Qualifier Dayana Yastremska reaches semi-finals

DE Online Desk
Dayana Yastremska says it is her “mission” to show pride in her home country of Ukraine after becoming the first qualifier since 1978 to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Yastremska breezed past Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3 6-4 in just 78 minutes to make the last four.
The 23-year-old wrote a message of support for Ukrainian fighters on the camera lens, amid the ongoing invasion of the country by Russia.
“I’m very proud of them,” she said.
“They really deserve huge respect. I always try to write something for Ukraine, about Ukraine.
“I think it’s my mission here,” she added. “I’m just trying to give the signal to Ukraine that I’m really proud of it.”
Yastremska is the second qualifier in the Open era to reach the Melbourne Park last four after Christine Dorey in the 1978 tournament.
She will face either Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen or Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya for a place in Saturday’s showpiece.
Yastremska is two wins away from emulating Briton Emma Raducanu, who became the only qualifier in history to win a major title with her 2021 US Open triumph.
She was a highly rated prospect as a teenager, having risen to inside the world’s top 25 as a 19-year-old before being given a provisional ban for a failed doping test in January 2021.
Yastremska denied any wrongdoing and the suspension was lifted after six months, with an independent tribunal accepting her positive test was the result of contamination.
She has beaten Grand Slam champions Marketa Vondrousova and Victoria Azarenka on her way to the last four.
Having needed three sets to come through her three qualifying matches, Yastremska has dropped just one set in her five main-draw encounters.
“I think it’s nice to make history because at that time [of Dorey’s run in 1978] I wasn’t born,” she added.
“I was a little bit nervous, but at the same time tired. I think I was a little bit too emotional.
“Today before my match I got angry at the practice of my coach. But that’s fine, because I could put my emotions away.”