MELBOURNE – Two days after entering her first quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament, unseeded Magda Linette has upped the ante and is in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
30-year-old Linette hit Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday, adding the former No. 1 to the list of top players to have beaten during that tournament at Melbourne Park.
linewho lost seven of nine previous matches to Pliskova has defeated Anett Kontaveit, Ekaterina Alexandrova and WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia in consecutive rounds.
A player from Poland was favored to reach the final stages of the tournament, but it was top seed Iga Swiatek that anyone would have expected – not Linette.
“It’s so emotional I can’t really believe it,” Linette said. “I tried to stay calm and take my chances when I could.”
Linette plays the winner of the second women’s quarterfinal between number 5 Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Donna Vekic on Wednesday. They meet in the semi-finals on Thursday evening.
The other women’s semi-finalists were determined on Tuesday. Two-time former Australian champion Viktoria Azarenka will play Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina for a chance to play in Saturday night’s final. Rybakina beat Swiatek in the fourth round.
Later on Wednesday, the remaining men’s semi-finalists will be determined. Unseated Americans Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul Game in front of the nine-time champion Novak Djokovic faces Andrey Rublev.
Djokovic will be looking to qualify for his 44th Grand Slam semi-final and a win in that game on Friday would put him in his 33rd major singles final on Sunday night.
In the other men’s semifinals on Friday, third-placed Stefanos Tsitsipas plays Karen Khachanov.
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