Ukraine's second-ranked player Marta Kostyuk (23rd in the world), who reached the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics, continued her winning streak at the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid with a prize pool of 8.2 million euros and will play in the final of the “thousandth” for the first time in her career.
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In a difficult three-set match with 25-year-old Russian Anastasia Potapova (56th), who recently received Austrian sports citizenship, the 23-year-old from Kyiv prevailed — 6:2, 1:6, 6:1 and took the lead in personal meetings with the “defector” — 3:2.
Since Potapova changed her passport, but not her views, Marta refused to shake hands with the Saratov native before and after the fight.
“The second set was really weird,” admitted Marta Kostyuk . “I hadn't lost a game all week, so it was a little unusual to give up a set. But I'm really proud of how I managed to just keep myself in shape. I didn't play like I usually do, but I felt like it was a key moment, and my opponent didn't like it.”
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“Even in difficult moments, I just try to enjoy the moment, playing in the semi-finals. And no matter how it turns out, I just want to remember this, so that in 20-30 years I can look back on this moment and smile sincerely, and not remember the suffering or how hard I was on myself.”
In the match for the trophy, Kostyuk, who has already earned 535,000 euros in the Spanish capital by “dirty” bets, will play on Saturday, May 2 (starting at approximately 6:00 p.m.) with Russia's top player, 19-year-old brawler Mirra Andreeva (8th), whom the Ukrainian has already defeated in Brisbane, Australia, this year (7:6, 6:3).
Marta Kostyuk's career-record winning streak (11 wins in a row!) has already raised the Kyiv native to 17th place in the WTA live rankings, and if successful in the final, Marta will enter the top 15 of the world rankings.
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Now, Kostyuk has repeated the achievements of Elina Svitolina and Angelina Kalinina, becoming the third Ukrainian to reach the final of a WTA 1000 tournament.
By the way, some of Marta's most devoted fans on the clay courts in Madrid are Real Madrid and Ukraine national team goalkeeper Andriy Lunin and his wife Anastasia. They attended three consecutive matches of Kostyuk at the tournament and each time brought her success. However, it is only now that the famous Ukrainians have finally met.
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Previously, “FACTS” reported that Marta Kostyuk was robbed in Milan.
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Photo by Jimmie48