Nadia Podoroska has already won more matches at this French Open – eight – than it usually takes to raise the trophy.
That’s because the 131st-ranked Argentine has come all the way from qualifying rounds to reach the semi-finals, becoming the first woman to achieve that feat at Roland Garros in the Open era.
Having never won a main-draw grand slam match before last week, the 23-year-old could hardly believe it after her 6-2 6-4 quarter-final victory Tuesday over third-seeded Elina Svitolina on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Asked afterward whether she is pinching herself to make sure it’s not a dream, Podoroska replied: “No. I don’t want to wake up.
“It’s a little bit difficult for me to speak after the match, thank you everybody for your support, I’m very, very happy.”
Podoroska is only the third female qualifier to get to the semis at any major tournament in the Open era, which began in 1968, and the first since Alexandra Stevenson at Wimbledon in 1999.
Another qualifier in Martina Trevisan had a chance to join that list later Tuesday but could not quite take the last step. The 159th-ranked Italian, who also had not won a main-draw grand slam match before this tournament, lost 6-3 6-1 to unseeded Pole Iga Swiatek.
The 19-year-old former Wimbledon junior champion, who thrashed top seed Simona Halep on Sunday, is also through to the doubles last-eight with American partner Nicole Melichar.
“I’m sad for the match, but it’s an incredible two weeks for me,” said Trevisan, who dropped tennis for over four years and returned to the sport in 2014.
“So today I close a very important chapter of my life. Tomorrow, other chapters will begin.”
Podoroska, who is from Rosario, the same city in Argentina as soccer superstar Lionel Messi, said she considered quitting tennis altogether a couple of years ago after “too many injuries”.
She was off the tour for eight months; her ranking dropped; she didn’t have enough money to travel to tournaments; and she split with a coach she’d been working with for a decade.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Podoroska said.
She stuck with it, though, and now has a new team around her, based in Spain. And she has, by far, the best results of her career.
“I have a lot of confidence,” she said.
Svitolina was one of the pre-tournament favourites after winning the Strasbourg International last month but failed at the last-eight stage for the third time in Paris.
Former world number three Gabriela Sabatini tweeted her congratulations to compatriot Podoroska, who added: “She’s always supporting us, all the Argentinian sports. She’s a very nice person. I’m happy that she’s always with us.”
In a delayed fourth-round match, world No.57 Danielle Collins set up an all-American quarter-final with Sofia Kenin after a 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory over 30th seed Ons Jabeur.
