January 24, 2024, 06:13 GMT
Updated 39 minutes ago
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Dayana Yastremska has already beaten two Grand Slam winners – Marketa Vondrousova and Victoria Azarenka – in Melbourne
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Venue: Melbourne Park. Dates: 14th – 28th January |
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Coverage: Tennis Breakfast commentary daily from 07:00 GMT on Radio 5 Sports Extra and ` Sounds, with selected live text commentary and match reports on the ` Sport website and app |
Dayana Yastremska says it is her “mission” to show pride in her home country of Ukraine after becoming the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open since 1978.
Yastremska beat Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in just 78 minutes to reach the last four.
The 23-year-old wrote a message of support for Ukrainian fighters on the camera lens amid Russia's ongoing invasion of the country.
“I’m very proud of her,” she said.
“They really deserve a lot of respect. I always try to write something for Ukraine, about Ukraine.”
“I think that’s my mission here,” she added. “I’m just trying to send a message to Ukraine that I’m really proud of it.”
Yastremska is the second qualifier in the Open era to reach the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park, after Christine Dorey in the 1978 tournament.
She will face either 12th seed Chinese Zheng Qinwen or Russian Anna Kalinskaya for a spot in Saturday's showpiece tournament.
Yastremska is just two wins away from emulating Britain's Emma Raducanu, who became the only qualifier in history to win a major title with her triumph at the 2021 US Open.
She was a highly-rated prospect as a teenager, breaking into the world's top 25 as a 19-year-old before being provisionally banned in January 2021 for a failed doping test.
Yastremska denied any wrongdoing and the suspension was lifted after six months, with an independent court deeming her positive test was the result of contamination.
On her way to the last four, she beat Grand Slam champions Marketa Vondrousova and Victoria Azarenka.
Yastremska needed three sets to get through her three qualifying matches and has lost just one set in her five main draw encounters.
“I think it’s nice to write history because back then [of Dorey’s run in 1978] I wasn’t born,” she added.
“I was a little nervous, but tired at the same time. I think I was a little too emotional.”
“Today before my game I was annoyed about my coach’s training. But that’s okay because I was able to suppress my feelings.”
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