Argentine Nadia Podoroska has caused one of the great French Open sensations by downing Ukrainian third seed Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-4 to become the first qualifier ever to reach the women’s semi-finals.
The world No.131 Podoroska, making only her second appearance in the main draw of a grand slam, emulates the 23-year-old achievement of Belgium’s Filip Dewulf as the only qualifier in either of the singles draws since tennis turned professional in 1968 to make it to the last four at Roland Garros.
“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 said on Court Philippe Chatrier after her “dream run” continued in the quarter-finals.
“We did a very good job with my coaches during quarantine. That’s why I’m here today.”
Svitolina was one of the pre-tournament favourites after winning the Strasbourg International last month but found herself on the back foot throughout before failing at the last-eight stage for the third time in Paris.
Podoroska, a 23-year-old native of Rosario with Ukrainian ancestry, will next face either Polish teenager Iga Swiatek or another qualifier, Italian Martina Trevisan in what looks the most unlikely of last-four encounters.
Should Trevisan prevail in her quarter-final, it would ensure a qualifier plays in the final of a grand slam for the first time in the Open era.
Since 1968, only Alexandra Stevenson at Wimbledon in 1999 and Christine Dorey at the 1978 Australian Open had made it to the semi-finals at a major prior to Podoroska. Both of them failed to go one step further.
Coming into Tuesday’s match, the 23-year-old Podoroska had won seven matches in a row at Roland Garros, having battled through the qualifiers, and she kept that momentum going against Svitolina.
The Ukrainian broke serve in the first game, but then Podoroska bagged five games in a row to move to 5-1, eventually taking the set after 37 minutes.
Perfectly mixing power and a gentle touch with drop shots, Podoroska proved too skilful for Svitolina, who is gaining a reputation for grand slam near-misses following her semi-final appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
