Anastasia Potapova has etched her name in the tennis record books by becoming the first lucky loser ever to reach a WTA 1000 semi-final, following a gritty three-set victory over former world number one Karolina Pliskova at the Madrid Open.
The Russian-born Austrian, who lost in qualifying last week, entered the main draw as a replacement and has since stormed through the field. After defeating Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko earlier, Potapova edged Pliskova 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
"I wouldn't have believed it for any money," Potapova said. "That's the beauty of our sport. I got a second chance and now I'm here."
Potapova dominated the first set in just 24 minutes and had three match points in the second, but Pliskova fought back to force a tiebreak and level the match. The Czech then raced to a 3-1 lead in the decider, only for Potapova to win five straight games, sealing victory with her 10th ace before collapsing to the court.
In the semi-finals, Potapova will face 26th seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, who defeated Czech 13th seed Linda Noskova 7-6 (7-1), 6-0.