Paris: World No.85 Tamara Zidansek became the first woman representing Slovenia to reach a Grand Slam semi-final with a 7-5, 4-6, 8-6 over No.33 seed Paula Badosa on Tuesday.
Prior to this fortnight, Zidansek had only ever won three matches in eight Grand Slam main draw appearances. She is now just two victories away from becoming a major champion.
"I'm really, really happy. Thank you for everyone who came out and supported me, thank you to my team, you're amazing. Thank you to everyone at home, I'm really, really happy I'm in the semi-finals," Zidansek said during her on-court interview.
"I knew before the match that it's going to be a tough battle. I was a set and 4-2 up, she came back, I was struggling a little bit but then in the third set I managed to get my groove and I started feeling better and better and I was fighting really well.
Zidansek hit 48 winners throughout the two-hour 26-minute takedown of Badosa and now awaits the winner of the second quarter-final of the day between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Rybakina.
Iga, Bethanie in doubles final
She just can't stop winning! Iga Swiatek, who secured her place in the singles quarter-finals on Monday night with victory over Marta Kostyuk, continued her run in doubles alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands as they stormed into the final four on Tuesday 6-3, 6-2 over No.11 seeds Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac.
Last year, Swiatek clinched her maiden Grand Slam title by triumphing in Paris in singles and she also made the semi-finals in doubles partnering Nicole Melichar.
Swiatek and Mattek-Sands had saved seven match points in the third round on Sunday against top seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens. Their quarter-final on Tuesday was far less taxing as they got the W in 86 minutes.
Home favourites and No.6 seeds Pierre Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut advanced to the doubles semi-finals with a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory over Nikola Cacic and Tomislav to book a clash with Colombian No.2 seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal.
Herbert and Mahut are bidding for a second Roland-Garros crown together, having scooped the title in 2018.
Cabal and Farah are into semi-finals in Paris for the fourth time in five years, thanks to a 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-5 victory over No.9 seeds Horia Tecau and Kevin Krawietz, Krawietz who won the last two men's doubles titles at Roland-Garros with his fellow German Andreas Mies.
The Colombian duo won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019 and are searching for their first final appearance on Parisian clay.
Later in the day, Russian No.31 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova snapped her 0-6 losing record in Grand Slam quarter-finals to make the last-four of a major for the first time in her career with a 6-7(2), 6-2, 9-7 victory over her doubles partner, the No.21 seed, Elena Rybakina at Roland-Garros on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old, who next faces world No.85 Tamara Zidansek, fought for two hours and 33 minutes to claim the victory.
It had been 10 years since Pavlyuchenkova's sole previous appearance in the Roland-Garros quarter-finals, and she finally has her redemption.
