Swiatek books French Open semi-final with qualifier Podoroska, Schwartzman shocks Thiem
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Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning against Italy's Martina Trevisan during their women's singles quarter-final at French Open, Paris, France, October 6, 2020. /VCG

Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning against Italy's Martina Trevisan during their women's singles quarter-final at French Open, Paris, France, October 6, 2020. /VCG

Iga Swiatek said she drew inspiration from U.S Open winner Naomi Osaka after sweeping into the semi-finals of the French Open on Tuesday by ending the run of her opponent, Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.

The Polish teenager followed up her emphatic win over top seed Simona Halep by defeating Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 to set up a meeting with Argentina's Nadia Podoroska.

"I just knew that I'm not going to play as perfect as with Simona. On my level, it's impossible to keep that level of consistency," said Swiatek, who broke the 159th-ranked Trevisan six times.

"I just stayed, like, really down-to-earth and really positive. I did that pretty well," she said.

World number 131 Podoroska, who had never won a Grand Slam main draw match before the tournament, became the first qualifier in the Open era to reach the women's last four at Roland Garros.

Swiatek, ranked 54th, is also through to her first major semi-final and cited the success of Osaka, who captured her third Grand Slam title last month, as a factor in her breakout performance.

Argentina's Nadia Podoroska roars in happiness during the quarter finals of the women's singles at French Open, Paris, France, October 6, 2020. /VCG

Argentina's Nadia Podoroska roars in happiness during the quarter finals of the women's singles at French Open, Paris, France, October 6, 2020. /VCG

"It was inspiring," Swiatek said of Osaka's return to form in New York after an indifferent 18 months for the Japanese star.

"I also know I can do better sometimes. I just kept working. Naomi is a good example of a player that just did the right work, and result was the effect of that."

Podoroska stunned third seed Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 and joined exclusive company as only the third female qualifier to make the last four of a Grand Slam.

Podoroska will now attempt to become the first qualifier in history to advance to the final of any of the four majors.

Alexandra Stevenson reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1999 while Christine Dorey achieved a similar run at the 1978 Australian Open. 

"My dream is to be number one. That will never change," said Podoroska, whose only other Grand Slam appearance came at the 2016 US Open."

"I don't want to wake up," added Podoroska, the first Argentine woman to reach a major semi-final since Paola Suarez in Paris in 2004. Gabriela Sabatini, the 1990 U.S. Open winner, is the country's only women's Grand Slam singles champion.

Argentina's Diego Schwartzman hits a forehand against Dominic Thiem of Austria in the quarter finals of the men's singles at French Open, Paris, France, October 6, 2020. /VCG

Argentina's Diego Schwartzman hits a forehand against Dominic Thiem of Austria in the quarter finals of the men's singles at French Open, Paris, France, October 6, 2020. /VCG

Meanwhile, Argentine and 12th seed Diego Schwartzman defeated U.S. Open champion and third seed Dominic Thiem in a five-hour epic to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals, his first ever Grand Slam last-four appearance.

The 28-year-old Schwartzman triumphed 7-6 (7/1), 5-7, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 and will face either 12-time champion Rafael Nadal or Italian teenager Jannik Sinner for a place in the final.

It was one marathon too many for Thiem, the runner-up in Paris for the last two years, who had needed five sets and three and a half hours to down world number 239 Hugo Gaston in the fourth round.

Schwartzman's success came on the same day that compatriot Nadia Podoroska, the world 131st, reached the last-four of the women's singles.

"Dominic is one of the great players. He is my best friend and I have a lot of respect for him," said Schwartzman. "So this win is very important for me. In the second and third sets, I was going a little crazy and I was screaming at myself because I had so many chances.

"But, come on, I deserved to win tonight," added Schwartzman who defeated Nadal in the Rome quarter-finals on the eve of the French Open.

Thiem had been attempting to reach a fifth successive semi-final in Paris.

However, despite crunching 65 winners to his opponent's 47, he committed 81 unforced errors in a match which featured 19 breaks of serve and at five hours and eight minutes was the second longest of the tournament.

Source(s): AFP