Daria Kasatkina aims to climb another "mountain" when she faces Iga Swiatek in her first grand slam semi-final at the French Open.
Kasatkina won an all-Russian showdown with Veronika Kudermetova on Court Philippe-Chatrier 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to break new ground at a major on Wednesday.
The 20th seed had lost her previous two grand slam quarter-finals in 2018, but she was not denied on this occasion in Paris.
Kasatkina will do battle with Swiatek for a place in the Roland Garros final on Thursday after the world number one beat Jessica Pegula in straight sets.
Top seed Swiatek has beaten Kasatkina twice in hard-court events this year and the Pole is on an astonishing 33-match winning run.
Yet Kasatkina has not dropped a set at the French Open and the 25-year-old is relishing the challenge of playing the biggest match of her career.
She said: "We played a few times this year. Okay, I lost those matches, but it was a different story. It was a hard court, beginning of the year, I was not in the same shape as I am now.
"I cannot compare what we are going to have tomorrow and what we had in February, March when we were playing. It's going to be completely different match. I want to win a lot, she wants to win as well, and it's going to be a good match.
"You never know what's going to happen in the semi-final of a grand slam, so it's going to be fun and that's it."
Kasatkina will savour her best performance at a major, but is hungry for more.
"I have no time to relax, I'm playing already tomorrow. So a little bit of time to enjoy it, because still it's special for me, a first semi-final," she added.
"But I know that tomorrow is another mountain in front of me which I have to climb and that's it. Maybe it's even better that I don't have much time to think about how good it is to be in the semi-finals, so I have another battle."
As she prepares to face the all-conquering tournament favourite, Kasatkina does not believe she has ever been in better shape.
She said: "Mentally and physically I feel the best I ever was, which is good, because it means that I'm improving. But I don't feel safe, because when you're in the comfort zone it means there's something wrong.
"I think it's better to feel something behind you, so you don't relax much. I think I'm always ready, you have to be always be ready.
"It doesn't have to be like, 'Oh, I'm so bad, and what do I have to do now?' But if you are ready and you know how to get out of this, this is also what I learn."
Emma Raducanu promises more after reaching Stuttgart Open quarter-finals
Emma Raducanu says the best is yet to come as she continued her excellent form by making it through to the quarter-final of the Stuttgart Open.
The 2021 US Open champion beat Linda Noskova 6-0 7-5 in Germany to set up a mouth-watering last-eight tie with world number one Iga Swiatek on Friday.
Raducanu is making her way back after a torrid 2023 but looked excellent in winning her two ties in the Billie Jean King Cup at the weekend and then followed that up by swatting home favourite Angelique Kerber aside in Wednesday’s first round.
She stepped it up again to dispose of the world number 31 to set up a repeat of the 2022 quarter-final with Swiatek.
Despite all her troubles since winning the US Open in 2021, Raducanu never doubted the good times would return.
“I am not too surprised because I have been working really hard on the training court and I knew it was just a matter of time,” she said in her on-court interview.
“This isn’t my best I still have a long way to go. I am just really happy the rewards are starting to come on the match court.
“You know how it is when you are training day in, day out you feel like the results aren’t going your way. It is never that far away, that is something I am learning.
“Going through everything I have been through gives you a different appreciation, there is nothing like playing in front of fans and playing good tennis.”
Her progress will face its toughest test when against the Polish world number one, who is a master of the clay court, but the Briton knows she is not under any pressure.
Raducanu, whose world ranking of 303 will shoot up, added: “We played here two years ago in the quarters, I have come a long way in two years, and she has achieved a lot, I have nothing to lose, I can swing and enjoy it.
“Hopefully recover in time. I’m good.”
Emma Raducanu records impressive victory over Angelique Kerber in Stuttgart
Emma Raducanu claimed an emphatic 6-2 6-1 win over former two-time champion Angelique Kerber in the last 32 of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Fresh from helping Great Britain reach the finals of the Billie Jean Cup at the weekend, Raducanu continued her promising form on clay by breezing past the home favourite.
Both Raducanu and Kerber were playing as wild cards in Stuttgart, with the Briton tumbling down the rankings after time out to undergo three surgeries.
Meanwhile former world number one Kerber only recently returned from 18 months out on maternity leave.
Raducanu got off to a flying start by breaking Kerber in the opening game and despite an immediate response from the German, the 2021 US Open champion took control and claimed the first set in 41 minutes.
Kerber was broken again at the start of the second set and although she managed to haul back level, Raducanu stepped up a gear and shrugged off a brief visit from the trainer to wrap up an emphatic win.
Also in Stuttgart, reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff rallied from 4-2 down in the deciding set to overcome fellow American and world number 134 Sachia Vickery 6-3 4-6 7-5.
And Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur finally snapped a five-game losing streak to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6 6-3 7-6 (1), telling reporters: “I thought about withdrawing so many times because I couldn’t take another loss.”
In Rouen, Naomi Osaka’s return to clay was cut short by a 6-4 6-2 first round defeat to Martina Trevisan.
Like Kerber, Osaka only recently returned to the tour following maternity leave, and was competing as a wild card.
In the Oeiras Ladies Open in Portugal, Britain’s fifth-seeded Harriet Dart suffered a 6-3 6-1 defeat to home player Matilde Jorge.
Rafael Nadal’s Barcelona Open hopes ended by Alex de Minaur
Rafael Nadal’s latest comeback bid came to an end as he was well beaten 7-5 6-1 by fourth seed Alex de Minaur at the Barcelona Open.
The 37-year-old was playing just his second tournament in 15 months after suffering another hip problem at his comeback event in Brisbane in January.
And having intimated that this will be his final year before retirement, Nadal’s defeat was likely to mark his final appearance at a tournament he has won 12 times.
Having overcome Italian Flavio Cobolli in the opening round, Nadal faced a much sterner test against the in-form De Minaur and was sent scampering around the court in a tight opening set which was edged by the Australian.
De Minaur went on to step up a gear, securing a double break over the Spaniard and racing over the line behind a strong service game on which he did not drop a single point in the second set.
Jack Draper made the most of a rain delay to defeat wild card Rudolf Molleker and reach the quarter-finals of the BMW Open in Munich.
German Molleker, ranked 179th, had been the better player in the first set but a brief stoppage ahead of the second set changed the momentum of the contest.
Draper began to assert his powerful game after the resumption and lost only two more games, pulling away to claim a 4-6 6-1 6-1 victory.
In the last eight the British number two, who is ranked 46th, will take on either third seed Taylor Fritz or Spanish qualifier Alejandro Moro Canas.
Speaking in an on-court interview, Draper said: “I think Rudy played an amazing level in the first set. The conditions were very rainy and very slow. In the second and third, the sun comes out and I start feeling better. I’m really proud of the way I played.”
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