Two qualifying players, the Italian Martina Trevisan and the Argentine Nadia Podoroska, reached the quarter-finals of Roland Garros on Sunday. Trevisan upset the fifth-placed Dutch Kiki Bertens, while Podoroska overtook Czech Barbora Krejcikova in their respective round of 16 matches.
At the start of the day Trevisan had prepared a thorough game to defeat Bertens 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 35 minutes. Trevisan broke Bertens early in the first set and held her lead until game nine when she served for the set.
While trying to do so, Bertens lost her own serve as she tried to consolidate her break in game 10. The second set followed a somewhat similar pattern when Trevisan made an early break in the first four games of the set.
Bertens fell back in game five, then consolidated her serve to bring the set to 3-3. A second break in the world’s number 8 serve in the seventh game enabled Trevisan to serve for the match.
But it came under renewed pressure and was broken back. She finally took the victory on her third match point on Bertens’ serve in the 10th game.
Roland Garros: Elina Svitolina keeps the fort for the Sami
The number 159 in the world was the first qualifying player since Yaroslava Shvedova from Kazakhstan reached the quarter-finals of the tournament at the 2012 French Open.
She was also the 10th qualifying player to make it this far in the French capital. After the game, Trevisan told the media: “I played very well today. I think the key to the game today is still getting on the pitch and being aggressive on the pitch to do my game.
But I think the most important thing is always my mentality, because game after game I’ve gained more confidence. So when I go out on the pitch, I sign up to win the match with no mistakes. “Trevisan will become a first-time quarter-finalist against Iga Swiatek – the biggest surprise of the tournament – as they play for a place in the penultimate round.
Podoroska overcame the loss of the first set against Krejcikova in two hours and nine minutes with 2: 6, 6: 2, 6: 3. The number 131 in the world reached the quarter-finals in Paris as the 11th qualifier. Thanks to the performances of Podoroska and Trevisan, it was the first time since 1978 that two qualifying players at Roland Garros play in the quarter-finals.
Podoroska meets Elina Svitolina in the last eight at Roland Garros. The Ukrainian won convincingly 6: 1, 6: 3 against France’s favorite Caroline Garcia in just 63 minutes. Photo credit: WTA Insider Twitter
