A miracle for Magda
7 6 26 5ft 11in 3 307/180 £3,944,871 Semi-final
(2017) HEAD-TO-HEAD: 2017 2017 2016
Rome (clay) Williams 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 Miami (hard) Konta 6-4, 7-5 Stanford (hard) Konta 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
2016 2015 (2000, ’01, ’05, ’07, ’08)
Australian Open (hard) Konta 6-4, 6-2 Wuhan (hard) Williams 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
THERE were times just eight months ago when Magdalena Rybarikova feared she might never hit a tennis ball again.
She was limping from a problem knee and sometimes cradling a wrist in a sling.
Today the 28-year-old Slovakian, world-ranked No 87, faces Spain’s Garbine Muguruza for a place in the final.
It surprises her still, and she said: “Last year it was very difficult for me. I felt sometimes that maybe I would never make a comeback. Now, here I am in a Grand Slam semi-final.” Rybarikova, above, had knee and wrist surgery. “I’m so grateful and lucky my health is good now,” she said. “Before I was always having issues; now at last I can think about my game and practise without pain. I’m no longer afraid to be on the court.
“This is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little kid. I feel miracles do happen.”
Rybarikova is the only unseeded player in the last four while Spanish baseline bully Muguruza reached the final two years ago, where she lost to Serena Williams.