PARIS (AP) – Nadia Podoroska has already won more matches at the French Open (8) than it takes to lift the trophy.
That’s because Argentina, ranked 131st, went all the way to the semi-finals, which allowed the first woman to achieve this feat in the Open Era.
As he never won a Grand Slam in the main draw before last week, Podoroska was barely able to do so after his 6-2, 6-4 quarter-final victory on Tuesday over third seed Elina Svitolina on the Philippe Chatrier court.
When asked later if it was pinched to make sure it wasn’t a dream, Podoroska replied, “No, I don’t need to wake up. “
Podoroska is only the third woman to qualify for the semi-finals of any primary open-era tournament, which began in 1968, and the first since Alexandra Stevenson at Wimbledon in 1999.
In the semi-finals, Podoroska could face some other qualifier in Italian Martina Trevisan, who had also not won a Grand Slam in the main draw before this tournament. later tuesday.
And to think, Podoroska, who is from the same city in Argentina as football superstar Lionel Messi, said she contemplates quitting tennis a few years ago after “too many injuries,” adding to her right wrist.
It didn’t seem old-fashioned: she off the tour for 8 months; your rating has dropped; I didn’t have enough cash to move on to the excursions; and broke up with a coach he’d been running with for a decade.
“I didn’t know what to do, ” said Podoroska.
However, he has remained and now has a new team around him, founded in Spain, and has, so far, the effects of his career.
“I have, he says, a lot of confidence.
STRICTLY TENIS
Danielle Collins, an unclassified American, is not in the mood to talk about anything other than tennis after se sewing a place in the quarter-finals for the first time at Roland Garros.
When asked if he had a cold, Collins told a reporter at his virtual press conference, “I don’t see the idea procedure there, and I don’t think it’s a very smart question. “
He then came here about the advent of stricter restrictions in Paris to involve the coronavirus pandemic.
“One of the things about the game is that other people can see the game,” Collins said. “They can have interaction on anything that is not similar to COVID or politics. I will not comment further on what is happening in terms of bubble or COVID or what is happening in Paris. I think this occasion brings a lot of positivity to the lives of the Players, those questions are actually quite frivolous.
“Obviously we’re in a pandemic and it’s a very serious situation,” Collins said after beating 30th seed Ons Jabeur 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. “But I think you make a story about tennis. “
In defense of Collins, he spent several stressful hours warming up and cooling off Monday before his game with Jabeur was postponed until Tuesday due to rain.
“Last night we spent 8 to ten hours on the court waiting to continue,” he said. “So we have to focus on our games, focus on warm-up, focus on treatment, do whatever we want to do to be able to pass out and play. “
Collins would probably not have much more time to think about the pandemic before betting again on Wednesday to Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin for a spot in the semi-finals.
CAN I KICK IT?
Ons Jabeur drew attention in his fourth-round loss to Danielle Collins for his missed shots from all over the area and some of his half volleys on his right foot.
Tunisia’s 30th seed showed a footballer’s strategy when, after wasting a few points in her 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 defeat, she threw the ball over the net as if she were scoring a closed-door goal. . Parc des Princes. La home of French champion Paris Saint-Germain is just a few steps away, or a kick from Jabeur, from Roland Garros field.
Turns out those candy stockings weren’t pits either.
“I have two brothers, so I played a lot of football with them. I love football in general. I’m a big fan of (Christian) Ronaldo,” he said. “I’m thinking of joining a team, not necessarily professional but amateur. Because it’s a game I love. Even for tennis, I can do a lot.
As a fan of superstar Ronaldo, who has amassed nearly 750 career goals, a brilliant career, it’s not worth guessing which position Jabeur would like to play.
“I like to score goals,” he says. I will definitely be a striker and try to score as much as possible. “
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Dampf reported from Rome. AP Tennis Howard Fendrich in Washington also contributed.
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