Tamara Zidansek survived a soul-baring drama of crippling nerves, extraordinary courage and wild fluctuations of form and fortune to reach her first grand slam semi-final with a 7-5, 4-6, 8-6 victory over 33rd seed Paula Badosa.
In a match that saw both women run the emotional gamut from delight to despair and back again, the 85th-ranked Zidansek recovered from the loss of the opening three games to lead by a set and a break before faltering to allow Badosa back in. The Spaniard, a heart-on-sleeve character frequently at war with herself as much as Zidansek, mounted a rollercoaster recovery and for a time looked the likelier winner.
But Zidansek, who came within a whisker of defeat against sixth seed Bianca Andreescu in the opening round before winning 9-7 in the final set, has shown her ability to stay the course and clung on to become the first Slovenian woman to reach the last four at a slam. She will now face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, another semi-final newcomer, after the Russian edged a similarly dramatic contest to defeat Elena Rybakina, the 21st-seed, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 9-7.
It was, as both Zidansek and Badosa acknowledged, a match won in the mind.
“It feels overwhelming,” said Zidansek, 23. “It was a great opportunity for the both of us to get into the semi-finals, but I guess I managed to keep my composure today a little bit better than her.”
Badosa, who struggled to contain her nerves and keep going for her shots, acknowledged that her emotions had got the better of her. She was furious when an overrule by chair umpire Carlos Ramos denied her a chance to break at 5-5 in the opening set, and having dropped it she later became embroiled in another dispute with the official when she was warned for coaching. She was fortunate to escape further sanction when she later launched her racket towards her chair in frustration.
“I was very nervous,” said Badosa. “I couldn’t control the nerves during the entire match. But at least I fight until the last moment and I had my chances.
“I was nervous in the morning. I was nervous yesterday night. It’s complicated the first time you’re in a quarter-final. When you want it so, so much, maybe sometimes it’s a little bit too much, and I was putting a little bit too much pressure on myself.”
Fate conspired against Badosa when a Zidansek groundstroke clipped the service line and died after the Spaniard had engineered a break point at 6-6. A lengthy game ensued but Zidansek, who had already drilled two stunning forehand winners to recover from 15-40, clung on to see out the match with some bold play.
On a day of drama in the women’s draw, Pavlyuchenkova showed similar fortitude and composure to overcome Rybakina, the 21-year-old who conquered Serena Williams in the previous round. Pavlyuchenkova, competing in the last eight at Roland Garros for the first time in a decade, had drawn a blank in six previous grand slam quarter-finals, but the 31st seed drew on her experience to outwit her younger opponent and nullify her superior firepower.
“I always had the tennis,” Pavlyuchenkova told Eurosport pundit and former world No 1 Mats Wilander. “Mentally I’m probably more solid now and I’m working harder and enjoying the hard work. I’m just trying to play smarter and give a little less importance to things.”
Predictably, the psychological dynamics of a match between two women who partner each other on the doubles court and practise regularly were compelling.
Rybakina won the opening-set tiebreak with a devastating display of power, but in the sixth game of the second set Pavlyuchenkova, now standing well inside the baseline to return, began to make an impression against the Ukrainian’s serve. On her third break point, the 29-year-old lunged wide to hoist up a lob, losing her footing in the process. As she fell to the ground, Pavlyuchenkova emitted a squeal of pain just as Rybakina was lining up her overhead. Rybakina miscued the shot but, perhaps mindful of who she was playing, said nothing.
Pavlyuchenkova went on to win six games in a row and, although Rybakina broke back to level at 2-2 in the decider, she finally buckled under the pressure of serving second, double faulting on match point after two hours and 33 minutes.
“I didn’t serve well at all today,” said Rybakina, who hit six double faults and made just 52% of her first serves. “My biggest weapon was not going, and because I was thinking a lot about this, I forgot completely the tactics.”
Having previously claimed the scalps of Aryna Sabalenka, the third seed, and Victoria Azarenka, Pavlyuchekova now has her sights set on the final. “I have always wanted to be in the semi-finals so much before,” she said. “I have achieved it now and I’m sort of, like, neutral reaction. Of course I’m happy, but I feel like I’m doing my work, I’m doing my job, and there are still matches to go through, still work to be done … I’m trying to enjoy this moment as much as I can but not giving [it] so much importance.”