Anastasia Potapova continued her fairytale run at the Madrid Open with a three-set win over former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova to reach the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time.
Potapova, who gained entry into the main draw as a lucky loser, came through a rocky 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3 encounter with Pliskova. The Russian-born Austrian was on course for a straightforward victory when leading by a set and 5-3 before some tentative serving resulted in her rival breaking back and then taking the match into a decider. Then at the start of the third set, Potapova was broken two consecutive times but fought back to draw level before winning four games in a row.
The 25-year-old is the first lucky loser to reach the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 or Tier 1 event since the series was introduced in 1990. Prior to beating Pliskova, she also dumped former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and world No.2 Elena Rybakina out of the tournament.
“I was given a second chance and now I’m here, I’m speechless,” Potapova said after her latest win.
“I’m super happy. There’s nothing better that could happen with me in my life at the moment.
“This tournament keeps giving me second chances and I keep using them. I’m super happy.”
Potapova said the support from her boyfriend, fellow tennis player Taloon Griekspoor, helped her overcome a rough patch and close out the match. Girekspoor lost in the second round of the men’s tournament to Lorenzo Musetti.
“I was a little bit gone mentally in the third set. I didn’t believe in myself at that moment, but big respect for my boyfriend who saved me just in time,” she said.
“He kept telling me, ‘you can do this, we are all together here, just keep going.’
“I think in the third set, it was most of his job to win this. I just played, and mentally, he just kept me there.”
Potapova, who has been ranked as high as 21st in the world, is the first player representing Austria to reach the last four of a WTA 1000 since the series started in 2009. She started playing for the country at the end of 2025 after competing for Russia.
So far in her career, she has won three WTA 250 titles and was runner-up at the Linz Open earlier this year. Her best Grand Slam result was reaching the fourth round of the French Open.
Potapova will play either Linda Noskova or Marta Kostyuk in the Madrid semi-finals later this week.
