No. 28 seed Anastasia Potapova of Russia overcame a dismal performance in the second set to complete a 7-5, 0-6, 6-3 upset of 13th-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini on Tuesday in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
Potapova rallied from a 5-4 deficit in the first set before things went awry in the second. Paolini was dominant, winning five of six second-serve points and converting three of four break points during the set, which also featured six double faults from Potapova.
After dropping the first game of the third set, Potapova rattled off three straight games and never let Paolini draw even the rest of the way.
“Let’s just forget about that second set,” Potapova said. “I’m really happy that I found this focus inside myself and could manage to finish this match.”
The secret behind the recovery? A pep talk in front of the mirror.
“When I went to the bathroom, I just looked in the mirror and said to myself, ‘Well it’s now or never,'” Potapova said. “You have to try your best, just fight for every point and just don’t let it go.”
In the quarterfinals, Potapova will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, the No. 31 seed. Kostyuk also recorded an upset Tuesday, doing so in a much easier fashion, beating No. 22 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-4, 6-1.
Two more matches were scheduled for later Tuesday, including a highly anticipated clash between Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and German Angelique Kerber.
Both players have returned from maternity leave within the past year, and both have been atop the world rankings. Tuesday marks the 16th all-time meeting of the close friends, with Kerber leading the series 8-7.
“We are both looking forward to this match and we are both in the same situation,” Kerber said. “We are friends now, and we will (still be) friends after a match. So, yeah, we will try of course both to win. But at the end, I think there are more important things than a tennis match.”
No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva will also be in action.
–Field Level Media