Tamara Zidansek becomes first Slovenian to reach French Open semi-final

The World No. 85 is set to take on doubles partner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last four.

World No. 85 Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia continued her fairytale run in the ongoing French Open. In a see-saw encounter, Zidansek beat Paula Badosa Gibert of Spain 7-5, 4-6, 8-6. Zidansek saved three break points in the penultimate game to hold for a 7-6 lead in the third and then broke Badosa to win. Hence, the 23-year-old becomes the first-ever Slovenian to reach a Grand Slam semi-final. She could well be on her way to scripting an underdog story if she manages to go all the way.

Zidansek, who was a competitive snowboarder before shifting focus to tennis, had never been beyond the second round in any of her previous Grand Slam appearances. She will tackle Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a mouthwatering semi-final match.

Pavlyuchenkova played out a thrilling encounter versus Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina. Interestingly, the pair are doubles partners and have a semi-final match together tomorrow at the French Open. However, on Tuesday it was the Russian who came out on top courtesy of a 6-7, 6-2, 9-7 victory. In doing so, the World No. 32 reached her elusive Grand Slam semi-final in her 50th match, having failed to clear the last-eight hurdle in each of her last six attempts.

Nadal on course for history

On Monday night, Rafael Nadal reached his 15th French Open quarterfinal after beating Italy's Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3, 6-0. Nadal hit 31 winners in total with his experience proving far too much for the teenager. Infact, the Spaniard hasn't lost a single set at his favourite hunting ground since 2019.

The win keeps the 35-year-old on course for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title. He will go up against 10th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, who he defeated at the semi-final stage last year.

Defending champion continues to battle on both fronts

Elsewhere, reigning women's singles champion Iga Swiatek continues to shine in two separate events. She comfortably won her last 16 singles match yesterday, in which she ousted Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-4. In doing so, the Pole kept her hopes alive for back-to-back titles at the French Open.

Swiatek has become an eye-catching performer on clay and she outlined her dominance in the women's doubles quarterfinals on Tuesday. The 20-year-old along with her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands cruised through to the doubles semis. Croatia's Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac of Slovenia were seen off in a resounding 6-3, 6-2 straight-set victory.

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