No. 11 Genie Bouchard secured a statement victory over No. 2 Kate Fahey on Saturday in the women's singles semifinals of the Rate Vegas Cup presented by Holland America.

Bouchard's 11-1, 10-12, 11-4 triumph on Humana Championship Court earned her a gold-medal matchup against the most dominant player on the planet, No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters, on Sunday.

The Canadian cruised in the opening game, and nearly ran away with the second, but Fahey made things interesting when she rallied from 1-10 down to force a deciding stanza.

That's when the Canadian finally managed to put her opponent away for good.

"That's something I've learned playing pickleball. There's a lot of momentum changes and it can be quite quick, so I just tried to stay positive when I had that lead in the second and she started coming back. I don't think I got too tight. I missed a few balls, but she started playing well. She's a great player, so you've got to expect the tough players to fight back," explained Bouchard. "I was really frustrated to have lost that second game, but I told myself, 'I can think about this after the match. I can save my frustration for after, but right now I don't have time to deal with that, so just forget it.' I literally just tried to have amnesia as best as possible to start the third fresh."

Bouchard certainly accomplished that objective.

Beating Fahey should provide another all-important confidence boost heading into the head-to-head showdown with Waters.

Previous victories over No. 7 Catherine Parenteau in the Round of 16 and No. 14 Jorja Johnson in the quarterfinals could definitely help Bouchard's cause, too.

"I have nothing to lose against Anna Leigh, so that's my mentality. I'm the underdog. I want to swing, play my game, try to be aggressive, and see how I match up," she mentioned. "It's always a fun opportunity to play the best in our sport."

Win or lose, there's no denying that Bouchard has officially arrived on the pro circuit.

And it's a treat to watch.

"It's definitely been a journey. I've really enjoyed the challenge of learning a new sport. I remember my first ever singles match, after the first point I didn't even know I had to go get the ball. I didn't even know how it worked barely, so I'm proud of the improvement I've done," concluded Bouchard. "There's still a long way to go, though."