Unseeded Anastasia Potapova of Austria continued her impressive run at the Madrid Open on Tuesday, taking down former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of Czechia 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, to become the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal.
Potapova, who lost in qualifying last week, will face No. 26 Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals after the Ukrainian defeated No. 13 Linda Noskova of Czechia 7-6 (1), 6-0. Kostyuk, who beat Potapova in the fourth round at Madrid last year, is 10-0 on clay this year.
Potapova led 5-3 in the second set and held three match points, but Pliskova rallied to even the match and led 3-1 in the third set before Potapova won five straight games to secure the thrilling victory.
When asked if she thought she would be in the semifinals after her qualifying loss, Potapova told reporters, “No, I wouldn’t, for any money and anything. That’s what makes our sport beautiful. I was given a second chance and now I’m here.
“I’m super happy. There’s nothing better that could happen to me in my life at the moment.”
Potapova finished with 10 aces and saved four of her eight break points, while Pliskova posted three aces but was 0-for-7 on break points.
Along the way to the semifinals, Potapova has also defeated French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and World No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
As for Potapova’s semifinal opponent, Kostyuk seized control against Noskova in the first-set tiebreaker, winning 7-1, then dominated the second set in less-than-ideal weather conditions to reach the Madrid semifinals for the first time.
“Conditions were incredibly difficult for both of us,” Kostyuk said in her on-court interview. “It was very windy, very cold, and I felt like we started to gain some (momentum) only towards the end of the first set. Until then, I think we both weren’t sure where the ball was going sometimes. But I’m happy that I did my strategy today very well.”
Kostyuk, who took the second set without dropping a game, is the only player — women’s or men’s — to reach this year’s semifinal without conceding a set. Earlier this month, she captured her first WTA title on clay at the Rouen Open in France.
“Today was not that type of day in the morning and I was forcing myself to smile, to enjoy,” said Kostyuk, who saved one of five break points while Noskova saved 17 of 24. “At the end of the day it was a quarterfinal match. No matter how it would turn around, I still think it was a great performance from me these past three weeks. At the end I managed to turn that page and enjoy again.”
-Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
