Picture Credit: Twitter
Australian Tennis player Daria Saville created history as she reached the final eight of the Miami Open. The Aussie endured a match point, before coming back to defeat Lucia Bronzetti. In the process of winning this game, she has become the lowest-ranked player to reach the final eight in the history of the tournament.
In the three-hour match, Saville beat Bronzetti 5-7, 6-4, 7-5. In the last few weeks, the 28-year-old has climbed an incredible 500 places in the world rankings. She was ranked 627th in the world during mid-February and could make the top 100 if she defeats her next match world No. 22 Belinda Bencic.
The was Saville’s ninth win in her last 11 tour matches as she advances to the last eight at a WTA 1000 event for the first time since Rome 2017. The Aussie is also just the fourth wildcard to reach this far at the Miami Open after Justine Henin in 2010, Venus Williams in 2012 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.
The comeback of the ages
Daria Savilla is also coming back from an Achilles surgery which she underwent in February 2020. The 28-year-old recalled that phase and her recovery after her loss as a wildcard at the Australian Open while talking to Newscorp.
She said, "I was hoping I’d get one but it’s never a certainty. I obviously didn’t play much this year, but I showed my good level at the Billie Jean King Cup tie, had a really good training week and had a pretty good win (over Greet Minnen).
"I was able to come back after a long time off and produce some good tennis, so I think that’s why I got rewarded with the wildcard. I think it shows that I’m not the only one who believes that I can get back to the top 50 – and that’s my biggest goal right now".
"This was basically the last option, but I was like, ‘If I want to continue playing tennis and give myself the best shot, I have to get this done’. It was pretty frustrating for me because from 2019 to 2021 I didn’t play much at all. I thought it wouldn’t get worse if I was conservative and built back up – but it did," she added.
