AT THE FOURFRONT
Unseeded Zidansek will take on Pavlyuchenkova in the French Open women’s last four
PARIS: Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek reached her maiden Grand Slam semi-final with a hard-fought victory over Spain’s Paula Badosa at the French Open.
World number 85 Zidansek, who had never previously been beyond the second round of a major, won 7-5 4-6 8-6.
She prevailed in a tense third set, saving three break points to lead 7-6 before breaking Badosa to seal the win.
Zidansek will take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who battled back from a set down to beat her doubles partner, Kazakhstan’s world number 22 Rybakina, 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 9-7. The remaining women’s quarter-final matches take place on Wednesday.
The women’s draw has been thrown wide open after seven of the top 10 players departed in the first week.
With both Zidansek and Badosa making their first quarter-final appearance at Roland Garros, Serbia Open winner Badosa made the more confident start as she established a 3-0 lead with an early double break.
But Zidansek, 23, battled back impressively with a threegame streak of her own and began to find her rhythm as she edged in front for the first time in the match at 5-4.
The Slovenian once again applied the pressure with a delightful drop shot to lead 6-5 and, though Badosa saved a first set point with an emphatic forehand, Zidansek tied up an engrossing 53-minute first set at the next opportunity.
Badosa, 23, initially struggled with the pace offered by her opponent and a superior Zidansek moved 3-1 ahead in the second set - yet the momentum swung dramatically once more as the Spaniard broke Zidansek in three successive service games on her way to levelling the match.
With a first French Open semi-final on the line, the errors began to creep in, but both players ground out crucial holds and Zidansek saved three break points to move 7-6 ahead before taking her second match point in the next game.
Later, after saving two break points in the opening game, 21-year-old Rybakina established a 4-1 advantage against sixtime Grand Slam quarter finalist Pavlyuchenkova with some powerful hitting into the corners.
The Kazakh was pegged back by the 31st seed, who seized a fifth break-point opportunity on her way to closing the deficit, although that fightback proved to be in vain as Rybakina dominated a first-set tie-break in which she raced into a 5-0 lead. A stubborn Pavlyuchenkova rallied in the second set, twice breaking the serve of an increasingly inconsistent Rybakina on her way to claiming six straight games as she levelled the match with relative ease, and edged 2-0 ahead in the third set.