First Austrian

Historic! Potapova storms into the Madrid semifinals

Anastasia Potapova is in the semifinals in Madrid.(Bild: AFP/OSCAR DEL POZO)

Anastasia Potapova has become the first Austrian woman to reach the semifinals of a WTA 1000 tournament. The 25-year-old defeated Czech player Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday in Madrid in a dramatic thriller, 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, advancing to the final four.

Anastasia Potapova qualified for the semifinals of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time on Wednesday. The 25-year-old new Austrian defeated former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the event in Madrid after two hours. Potapova has thus also made a piece of Austrian tennis history: Since the introduction of the 1000-level tournaments in 2009, no Austrian woman had made it to the semifinals.

Anastasia Potapova(Bild: GEPA)

  With her semifinal berth, Austria’s No. 1 has now secured 390 WTA points and a gross prize of 297,550 euros. In the WTA live rankings, Potapova climbed to No. 38; she had previously been ranked as high as No. 21. And in this calendar year’s standings—the Race—the Russian-born player, who most recently lost in the final in Linz, has already surged to 16th place. Her next opponent was determined later in the final quarterfinal of the women’s tournament between the Czech Linda Noskova (13) and Marta Kostjuk (UKR-26).

As a lucky loser in the semis: “I wouldn’t have believed it for much money”
Just a week ago, she was eliminated in qualifying against Sinja Kraus; now she’s in the semifinals. “No, I wouldn’t have believed it for much money,” Potapova said in an interview with the WTA. “That’s what makes our sport so beautiful,” said Potapova, who had already looked like the loser at the start of the third set. Her joy was immense, and there were tears when she ultimately won. “I’m speechless and super happy. It was an explosion of emotions. I had match points in the second set on my own serve and couldn’t keep my nerves in check. This tournament seems to be giving me second chances, and I’m going to keep taking them,” Potapova explained.

Karolina Pliskova(Bild: AP/Pablo Garcia)

Potapova, who had previously knocked out world No. 2 and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, was clearly in control on the court from the start and raced to a 5-0 lead in just 17 minutes. The first set was over in 23 minutes. The second set was much closer. After breaking to make it 4-3, Potapova had two match points at 5-4, but Pliskova surprisingly managed to break back. The Vienna-based player brushed off her frustration with a smile and broke Pliskova to love to make it 6-5. But Potapova was unable to convert her third match point either, and the set went to a tiebreak. Although she rallied from a 0-3 deficit, a now-dominant Pliskova capitalized on her first set point to win 7-4.

Improved footwork brings Potapova back
The third set began with three consecutive breaks, with Pliskova holding serve first to make it 3-1. When Potapova’s boyfriend, Dutch pro Tallon Griekspoor, appeared in the box and cheered her on, Potapova regained her composure and turned a 1-3 deficit into a 4-3 lead. The shouts of “Legs, legs, legs” had an effect; she was moving much better again. Potapova served for the match at 5-3 for the third time in the match, and this time she converted her fourth match point—with an ace.

Tallon Griekspoor(Bild: AFP/OSCAR DEL POZO)

“In the third set, I was already mentally gone. I didn’t believe in myself anymore,” admitted Potapova, who had nearly fallen behind 0-4. “A lot of respect to my boyfriend, who arrived just in time: In the third set, it was thanks to him that I won; he got me there mentally.”

Potapova had lost in the second qualifying round to her compatriot Sinja Kraus, of all people, and then slipped into the main draw as a lucky loser. Kraus, in turn, lost in the first round to Pliskova 6-2, 1-6, 4-6. And on the topic of lucky losers, Potapova has also achieved a statistic of interest to analysts: For the first time in 36 years, a player who had actually been eliminated in qualifying has reached the semifinals in the highest WTA tournament category.

Tagger in the quarterfinals at the WTA125 tournament
On a smaller stage, Austria’s rising star Lilli Tagger has reached the quarterfinals at the WTA125 tournament in St. Malo. The 18-year-old from East Tyrol, seeded No. 6 in France, defeated France’s Amandine Monnot 6-4, 6-1. Tagger will now face top-seeded Czech Tereza Valentova.