Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine easily defeated Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic on Wednesday to become just the second women’s qualifier in the Open Era to get to the Australian Open semifinals. In 78 minutes, Yastremska broke three times to win 6-3, 6-4 in the scorching Rod Laver Arena conditions.
Yastremska had to fight hard to get to Melbourne Park’s main draw after losing all three of her qualifying matches. Since Australia’s Christine Matison in 1978, Yastremska is the first women’s qualifier to advance to the final four in the season-opening Grand Slam.
She expressed her feelings in the post-match interview and said: “It’s nice to make history because at that time I wasn’t even born. So it’s the next generation and it’s nice to make history. I’m super happy. I played well, but I didn’t feel like I was playing well. I just play like I can. I’m a little bit tired and everything that was left was just fighting.”
Dayana Yastremska becomes the first qualifier to reach the semifinals of the women’s singles draw at the Australian Open since 1978.
Fairytale. 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/cdUwVpxBkC
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 24, 2024
Dayana Yastremska on becoming 1st qualifier to reach Australian open SF since 1978:
“I think it’s nice to make history because at that time I still wasn’t born. I was born in 2000. So it’s the next generation. I’m super happy. I’m tired, but really happy (laughs). 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/LoSw5qQk1c
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 24, 2024
Yastremska at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
LWLLLLLLLW Now ranked no.93, Yastremska achieved an overall 10-1 record in 2024. Yastremska is currently having a run at the Australian Open where she ousted the world no.221 Lea Boskovic 6-3 4-6 6-3, the world no.219 Valentini Grammatikopoulou 6-4 3-6 6-4, the world no.565 Maya Joint 6-2 1-6 6-4, the world no.7 Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-2, the world no.39 Varvara Gracheva 6-3 6-2, the world no.26 Emma Navarro 6-2 2-6 6-1, the world no.22 Victoria Azarenka 7-66 6-4 and the world no.50 Linda Noskova 6-3 6-4.
Dayana Yastremska will come up against the world no.15 Qinwen Zheng in the semifinal. In the past, they have never competed against each other till now in top competitions.
Dayana Yastremska |
| Embed from Getty Images |
