‘Lucky loser’ Anastasia Potapova reaches Madrid Open semi-finals
MADRID — Anastasia Potapova dropped to her knees, put each arms on her face and began crying.
The “explosion of emotions inside” got here after the 56th-ranked Potapova beat Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Wednesday on the Madrid Open to grow to be the primary “lucky loser” to achieve the semifinals of a WTA 1000 occasion.
She virtually gave up the victory, squandering three match factors within the second set and having to come back again from 3-1 down within the third towards the previous No. 1-ranked participant. It’s been a formidable run contemplating Potapova misplaced within the qualifying event and solely obtained a spot in the primary draw as a so-called fortunate loser following the withdrawal of one other participant.
“I (had) a few match points in the second set, on serve, but I couldn’t manage my nerves at that time,” she stated. “It seems that this tournament keeps giving me second chances and I keep using them. So yeah, supper happy.”
Russia-born Potapova stated she obtained a lift when her boyfriend, Dutch participant Tallon Griekspoorarrived to look at.
“I was a little bit gone mentally in the third set. I didn’t believe in myself at that moment,” she stated. “But big respect to my boyfriend who came just on time. He kept telling me, ‘You can do this, we are all together here, just keep going.'”
Potapova stated Griekspoor is “not scared” of telling her something.
“I just played, and mentally he kept me there,” she stated. “It just happened at such an important moment, and it gave me a lot of energy. Mentally, I think he got this match. I did it physically. He did it mentally.”
She subsequent will face Marta Kostyukwho defeated Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 6-0.
The girls’s tour stated Potapova was the primary fortunate loser to achieve a WTA 1000 or Tier I semifinal for the reason that format’s inception in 1990. She has received 4 straight matches, together with towards world No. 2 Elena Rybakina within the spherical of 16.
“I didn’t expect myself to be in the draw again because at first they didn’t take my name as a lucky loser,” she stated. “And then the days kept on going and nobody was injured or pulling out. Then the last moment I got the information, literally 30 minutes before the (first-round) match, that I was given a chance to step on court here again.”
She stated she had simply been having fun with “some nice days” within the Spanish capital, with no expectations.
“Maybe that’s the key. You don’t need to be always so zoomed in and so locked in on the tournament,” Potapova stated. “Maybe it’s just a matter of sometimes just enjoy yourself and enjoy the journey.”
She stated it looks like “a miracle” to have superior to date.
“It’s pretty rare when you get the second chance and that you go almost all the way,” Potapova stated. “But… I always say, if you got it, maybe you deserved it. I’m happy that I didn’t waste it, and I was able to convert it and to be here now.”
