07.10.2020
10:08
The 23-year-old Argentine tennis player will face the Polish player tomorrow at 10 (Argentine time) in the central court
October 7, 2020 Share on FacebookShare Share on TwitterTweet Share on WhatsAppShare
Nadia Podoroska will play against the Polish Iga Swiatek (Photo: AFP)
Nadia Podoroska will once again paralyze Argentine tennis fans this Thursday, October 10, in her semifinal duel against Iga Swiatek . The duel is scheduled at the Philippe-Chatrier starting at 10 in the morning. It will be the first match of the day at that stadium ( ESPN will televise). It should be noted that Diego Schwartzman will play his match on Friday .
The 23-year-old Rosario lives her dream hours in France after entering the tournament’s main draw for the first time in her career. After what was done against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, she will return to play in the central court: she will face the Polish Swiatek , one of the great promises of this discipline. The European tennis player is 19 years old and is already ranked 54th in the WTA ranking , although this brilliant performance at the French Open will allow her to take a leap in the world count to at least be among the Top 30 . Although he does not add titles at the moment in his career, he has just reached the third round of the US Open and played the fourth phase of the Australia Open.
Iga Swiatek beat Martina Trevisan in the quarterfinals (Photo: Reuters)
In return, Nadia also lives with the best moment of her career after the takeoff that the gold medal in the Pan American Games in Lima a year ago meant in her sporting life. After winning the title at the ITF tournament in Saint-Malo (France) last month, he came to Roland Garros to qualify . She faced her first match in the qualifying stage on September 22 against the Polish Magdalena Frech (6-2 and 6-2). 16 days and eight performances later, he will be present at a Grand Slam semifinal .
Regardless of his result in this duel against Swiatek, Podoroska’s sporting life will be drastically transformed after what was done in the French tournament. The points harvested so far will place her in the Top 40 of the WTA ranking , which will allow her to stop competing in the qualys to enter the different main draw. If it continues to advance, next Monday it will appear near the Top 30 (if it loses in the final) or it will be among the best 20 in the world (if it is champion).
Although the most important thing for her will be the economic cushion that she will accumulate and will allow her to plan her career in a broader way. Until Roland Garros, Nadia had earned $ 301,547 in her entire career according to the official WTA website. Being among the best four of the tournament ensured her pocketing 425,250 euros ($ 500,000) , although if she advances to the final she will take 1,600,000 euros to lift the title or 850,500 euros if she falls into the definition.
On the other side of the table, the pass to the final will be settled between the Czech Petra Kvitova (11th in the world) and the North American Sofía Kenin (6th) . A small advantage for the side of the table that the Peque occupies: both Kvitova (vs. Siegemund) and Kenin (vs. Collins) faced their quarter-final matches this Wednesday and will play the semifinal at the end of the Podoroska-Swiatek duel .
It is the first time in 16 years that an Argentine tennis player is in the semifinals of Roland Garros after what was done by Paola Suárez in the 2004 edition. The tennis player who became 9 in the world after that French competition fell at that time against the Russian Elena Dementieva (6-0 and 7-5) and was left with the desire to play the Grand Slam final.
That 2004 was also the last time that the men’s and women’s teams hosted Argentine representatives in the semifinals: David Nalbandian , Gastón Gaudio and Guillermo Coria were among the four best in the championship on brick dust. Finally, the Cat lifted the title in a remembered definition against the Magician .
On this occasion, there will be Diego Schwartzman (he will face Rafael Nadal on Friday) and Podoroska , who after all the negative streaks he broke in the French tournament will look for one more: to be the first Argentine tennis player to play a French Open final in all history .
Nadia could be the first Argentine in history to play a Roland Garros final (Photo: Reuters)
