Former French Open semi-finalist Nadia Podoroska pulled off an incredible comeback late in the deciding set tiebreak to oust fourth seed Tatjana Maria in second round action at the Chennai Open WTA 250 event on Thursday evening.
The 25-year-old Argentine started the match on the backfoot as Maria, a Wimbledon semi-finalist this year, quickly built a 5-0 lead. Podoroska pulled one break back but Maria held her next service game to win the set 6-3.
That little run was enough to give Podoroska some confidence heading into the second set, as she told the press after the match, which she won 6-2.
The final set went down to the wire with both players holding their serve to take the match into a tiebreaker. Maria built a 5-1 lead but Podorsoka fought back once again to win seven of the last eight points and complete the 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) win in two hours and 46 minutes.
Podorsoka, who took a 10-month break after the 2021 US Open to recover from multiple injuries, will meet former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard in Friday’s quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, second seed Varvara Gracheva and third seed Magda Linette scored straight wins to also move into the last eight. Gracheva defeated Canada’s Carol Zhao 6-1, 7-5 while Linette scored a 6-2, 6-0 win over Oksana Selekhmeteva.
Gracheva will face Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova next while Linette will square off against seventh seed Rebecca Marino.
British woman Katie Swan also advanced to the quarter-finals with a hard-fought straight sets win over Anastasia Gasanova 7-6, 6-2 which lasted two hours and 25 minutes.
In the doubles event, the Indian duo of Karman Kaur Thandi and Rutuja Bhosale were defeated 6-0, 6-3 by the top seeded pair of Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani while the unseeded duo of Bouchard and Yanina Wickmayer advanced in a match tiebreak win over Gasanova and Selekhmeteva.
WTA Chennai Open Singles Second Round Results (September 15, 2022)
- (2) Varvara Gracheva beat Carol Zhao 6-1, 7-5
- (3) Magda Linette beat Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-0
- Nadia Podoroska beat (4) Tatjana Maria 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
- Katie Swan beat Anastasia Gasanova 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
WTA Chennai Open Doubles Second Round Results (September 15, 2022)
- (1) Gabriela Dabrowski/ Luisa Stefani beat Rutuja Bhosale/ Karman Kaur Thandi 6-0, 6-3
- Anna Blinkova/ Natela Dzalamidze beat Olivia Tjandramulia/ Arianne Hartono 6-3, 4-6, 10-5
- Peangtarn Plipuech/ Moyuka Uchijima beat Emily Webley-Smith/ Justina Mikulskyte 6-2, 6-0
- Eugenie Bouchard/ Yanina Wickmayer beat Anastasia Gasanova/ Oksana Selekhmeteva 5-7, 6-3, 12-10
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