Lucky Loser Potapova makes history in Madrid with help from tennis boyfriend

(Getty/Oscar J. Barroso)

A whirlwind past fortnight has made the tennis world stand up and take notice of Anastasia Potapova after she reached her first-ever WTA 1000 semi-final.

The 25-year-old lost in the second round of qualifying in Madrid, but was awarded a spot in the main draw as a 'Lucky Loser', where she has grabbed the opportunity with both hands by becoming the first Lucky Loser to make the last four of a WTA 1000 tournament.

Having already defeated two Grand Slam champions in Elena Rybakina and Jeļena Ostapenko earlier in the week, Potapova got the better of former world No.1 Karolína Plíšková 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3.

The world No.56 had three match points in her last two service games of the second set, but couldn't close it out in straights.

"I [had] a few match points in the second set, on serve, but I couldn't manage my nerves at that time," Potapova said.

"It seems that this tournament keeps giving me second chances, and I keep using them. So [I'm] super happy."

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She described the weird feeling of being called up by the tournament as a last-minute replacement in the main draw.

"To be honest, I didn't expect myself being in the draw again because at first they didn't take my name as a lucky loser," Potapova said.

"And then the days kept on going, and nobody was injured or pulling out.

"Then the last moment I got the information, literally 30 minutes before the match… I was given a chance to step on court here again."

Potapova credited the victory to her boyfriend, world No.33 Tallon Griekspoor. "I was a little bit gone mentally. I didn't believe in myself in that moment," Potapova said on court when asked about the missed match point conversions.

"This is the first time I'm going to say it, but big respect to my boyfriend who came just in time... he kept telling me 'you can do this'."

Potapova recently switched her nationality from Russian to Austrian, as she will face Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the semis.

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