On Friday evening Martina Trevisan suffered a first set thrashing before fighting back to record the biggest win of her turbulent career.
The 26-year-old locked horns with Greek 20th seed Maria Sakkari who was the third highest-ranked player Trevisan had ever played. On paper the odds were stacked against her but in a Grand Slam full of surprises she prevailed 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-3, to move into the fourth round and continue what is an extraordinary run for the Italian world No.159 who had never won a main draw match prior to this week in a major.
“I’m so tired, but so happy. I’m living a dream. I don’t want this to end,” she said moments after stunning Sakkari.
At one stage the prospect of Trevisan even playing a tennis match was up in the air. After experiencing a successful junior career where she reached the semi-finals of two Grand Slams in the doubles, she took a four-year hiatus due to serious health issues. In a blog post earlier this year Trevisan spoke openly about her battle with anorexia and how she was ‘re-educated to eat’ once again. At one stage her mother would ‘run to pick peaches from the threes’ in order to get her to eat something.
“Sometimes I think about that period. But I knew it was the right decision to stop tennis, to take my time, to rest, since I didn’t feel well at all,” she reflected.
“Now I’m here. So no matter what happened in the past, I’m here, I have a new life. Martina’s growing up. That is what is important.”
Trevisan’s ability to overcome adversity and shine at Roland Garros this year is just one of a series of dream runs to have taken place on Friday where the first half of third round matches were played.
Nadia Podoroska started 2020 ranked outside the world’s top 250 and looked to be an unlikely contender to even play in the main draw of an event such as the French Open. Participating in the lower-level ITF Tour a trio of titles helped the Argentine surge up the rankings but it is in Paris where she has made a name for herself.
Podoroska dropped only five games during her comprehensive win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who defeated Victoria Azarenka in the previous round, to become first female player from her country to reach the last 16 since Gisela Dulko in 2011.
“It’s like a dream come true. It’s been an amazing tournament for me. I didn’t expect this result, so I’m very happy,” said Podoroska.
“During the quarantine I improved a lot. I spent time with my coaches training for three months and I knew that I have been improving my game.”
Next up for the Argentine is Barbora Krejcikova who is a former world No.1 doubles player but has been less fortunate when it comes to singles. Prior to the French Open, she has only played in the main draw of a Grand Slam twice and has suffered 15 losses during qualifying for majors. For Krejcikova the feel good factor wasn’t just the fact she won her third round match but she did so on what would have been the 52nd the birthday of her former mentor Jana Novotna, who died of cancer back in 2017.
“It was very emotional for me, very special that I could win this match today,” Krejcikova said. “I would like to also dedicate it to her because she would be really happy for my result.”
Korda named his cat after his idol, now he plays him
In the men’s draw Sebastian Korda is yet to officially break into the world’s top 200 and was known best as being the son of former Australian Open champion Petr Korda. Although that has changed this week in the French capital. Coming through qualifying the 20-year-old saw off both Andreas Seppi and John Isner en route to the last 16. His reward is a meeting with the formidable Rafael Nadal.
“He’s my biggest idol. He’s one of the reasons I play tennis. Just watching him play, he’s an unbelievable competitor. From him I have the never-give-up mentality. Whenever I’m on court, I try to be like him,” said Korda.
“Growing up, I named my cat Rafa after him. That says a lot about how much I love the guy.”
At a young age Korda had to choose between ice hockey and tennis. Ironically his decision to choose tennis is linked to a member of the infamous Big Three but not his idol Nadal.
“I went to the US Open with my dad and Radek Stepanek in 2009. He played Djokovic on Ashe 10:30 at night, totally packed. I thought it was the coolest thing. I went home, came back the next year and said, this is exactly what I want to do,” he reflected.
As Korda relishes his showdown with Nadal, French fans are paying their attention to wild card entrant Hugo Gaston. Somebody who prior to the tournament had never recorded a tour-level win with his best-ever performance being a run to the semi-finals of a Challenger event. Impressively he is the only Frenchman to reach the last 16 despite there being no fewer than 23 men from his country ranked higher than him.
“It’s difficult to explain. It’s fantastic. It was a great match. I’m very happy,” Gaston said following his win over former champion Stan Wawrinka.
“To play in Paris, it’s fantastic. I try to take the pleasure every minute, every time.”
Everybody loves a good underdog story but what is it about the French Open that is triggering so many? It is the cooler conditions, the lengthy break in professional tennis due to COVID-19 earlier this year or something else?
Whatever the reason may be the likes of Trevisan, Podoroska and Korda will exit Paris with at least €189,000 in prize money for reaching the fourth round. As to if they can go any further in the draw, fans will just have to wait and see what Sunday entails.
