Dayana Yastremska defeated Linda Noskova on Wednesday to secure her spot in the Australian Open semifinals. In a match between two unseeded women at the Rod Laver Arena, the 23-year-old recorded her ninth victory in Melbourne in the previous three weeks.
Yastremska has advanced to a major semifinal for the first time. Her best Grand Slam performance to date was qualifying for the third round of the US Open in 2019.
Regarding her objective for the Australian Open, she remarked, “I was working on some things that are a little bit, like, personal, you know.” It had more to do with connecting with my mind and how I felt when playing.
“I wasn’t really planning on making it to the quarterfinals, the fourth round, the semifinals, or anything else. All I wanted to do was have fun while playing here.
The 93rd-ranked Ukrainian made history by becoming the fifth qualifier in the Open Era to get to a Grand Slam semifinal, and only the second since Christine Dorey in 1978 to do it at the Australian Open. This decade has seen three qualifying runs to the final four: Nadia Podoroska reached the 2020 French Open semifinals, and Emma Raducanu won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier.
She remarked, “I wasn’t even born at that time, so it’s nice to make history.”
The Ukrainian stated that she was there to represent her war-torn country with pride at the Australian Open.
After winning, the 23-year-old scribbled a supportive message on a TV camera for Ukrainian fighters fighting Russia.
She remarked, “I’m very proud of them.” “They are incredibly deserving of respect. I make it a point to write about or for Ukraine every time.
This is, I believe, my mission. Tough to explain, but if I perform well, I can obtain. All I’m trying to do is let Ukraine know how proud I am of it.
The native of Odessa will play in a major semifinal against either Zheng Qinwen or Anna Kalinskaya, making her the second Ukrainian, following Elina Svitolina.
The lowest-ranked woman still in the draw is Yastremska, who peaked at World No. 21 in January 2020. She fell off the ladder because she didn’t pass the drug test. However, once an impartial tribunal determined that her positive test was the consequence of contamination, the restriction was later revoked.
Her five main draw victories at the Australian Open have all come against players ranked higher than her. She was defeated in all three of her qualifying bouts.
Outside of tennis, Yastremska claimed to have a wide range of interests, including music and fashion.
She stated, “I hope to release one new song in February.” It’s not limited to me. Three of us from three separate nations will be performing the song that we came up with together.
“I won’t be talking about it much. I hope you’ll hear about it shortly.
Run at the Australian Open in 2024:
First round: defeated seventh seed and Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova
Win the second round over Varvara Gracheva
Third round: victory Emma Navarro
Fourth round: defeated Victoria Azarenka, the two-time Australian Open champion
Iga Swiatek was defeated by Linda Noskova in the qualifying round.
A brief bio
Present position: 93
highest career ranking: 21
Three titles: Hua Hin (2019), Strasbourg (2019), and Hong Kong (2018)
Cash awarded: $3,255,888
W/L standings for singles: 214–150
2019 WTA Newcomer of the Year nominee
made her WTA ranking debut at No. 100, becoming the first woman born in the 2000s to appear in the top 100. July 16, 2018
