Paris: Italian world No. 59 Martina Trevisan could not contain her joy when she earned a match point against Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Sunday and she put on her biggest smile before booking her French Open quarterfinal spot with a 7-6(10), 7-5 win.
As she prepared to serve on her first match point and dispatch Sasnovich, the diminutive Trevisan, a quarterfinalist in Paris in 2019, beamed one of her trademark smiles and then proceeded to beat the Belarusian and extend her winning run to nine matches.
Trevisan, who had landed her first Tour title days before the French Open with victory in Rabat, has so far not dropped a set en route to the last eight.
"I know that it's weird that I was smiling but you know it helped me a lot during the moment of more patience and more nervous," Trevisan said. "I remember to smile and I feel better."
"It's not easy to do because the situation is very tough but I practise it a lot."
She will next face Canadian Leylah Fernandez, the US Open finalist, but the 28-year-old Trevisan feels no pressure and is right at home on the red clay as she looks to improve her Grand Slam record and reach her first ever semifinal.
"Here in Paris there is a magic atmosphere for me. I like so much the court, the bounce is very high but at the same time it's a very fast court," Trevisan said.
"Paris, right now I feel like it's my second home. I am just enjoying the moment. It's two incredible weeks and I keep focus every day on everything I’m doing. Keep smiling, that’s most important, the first thing."
Fernandez downs Anisimova
Fernandez won a baseline battle against American 27th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to book her spot in the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time.
The only other time the Canadian left-hander made the second week of a Grand Slam was during her run to the final at Flushing Meadows in 2021 when she lost to fellow teenager Emma Raducanu.
"Today was a very complicated game and I'm happy I managed to get through," she said in an on-court interview, speaking in French.
"I knew she would fire a lot of winners and that I had to accept that and not get frustrated. I was so eager to get to play here. I'm happy all the hard work we've done, me, my father, paid off."