Anastasia Potapova made history by becoming the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal at the Madrid Open on Wednesday. The Austrian defeated Karolína Plíšková 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3 to set up a final four clash against Linda Nosková or Marta Kostyuk.
Potapova was cheered on by her boyfriend, Tallon Griekspoor, in the deciding set as she came from 3-1 to secure a remarkable comeback win.
Anastasia Potapova Thanks Boyfriend Tallon Griekspoor After Remarkable Madrid Open Win
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a near-perfect start to the clay-court season, making the final in Linz and now her first-ever WTA 1000 semifinal in Madrid. After the match, Potapova thanked her partner for his support. She revealed how he provided her with the motivation to complete the comeback in the final set.
“I was a little bit gone mentally in the third set. I didn’t believe in myself at that moment. Big respect to my boyfriend who came just in time. He kept telling me, ‘You can do this; we’re all together here; just keep going.’ In the 3rd set it was most of his job to win this. I just played, and mentally he just kept me there,” she said during her post-match on-court interview.
Magic moments in Madrid 🌟
Anastasia Potapova is into the semifinals after defeating Pliskova 6-1, (4)6-7, 6-3!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/4nAodSFDHy
— wta (@WTA) April 29, 2026
Griekspoor lost to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round in singles but had a doubles match on Wednesday. He teamed up with Brandon Nakashima to face Luke Johnson and Jan Zieliński in the round of 16. Even though the match did not go the Dutchman’s way, he arrived at the Manolo Santana Stadium just in time to support Potapova in the deciding set of her quarterfinal.
After the match ended, he was seen giving Potapova a thumbs-up and celebrating his partner’s win.
Griekspoor during Potapova’s match vs after she won
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/qtrCXkubsX
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 29, 2026
Potapova and Griekspoor have been together since last year and also vacationed together in the Maldives in late 2025.
Meanwhile, Potapova will now turn her attention to her Madrid Open semifinal on Thursday. She goes into the match on the back of just one main draw defeat in her last 9 matches and has already beaten Jeļena Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina in Madrid.
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The journey in Madrid has been a remarkable one for Potapova, who lost in her second qualifying match to Sinja Kraus in three sets but was given a lucky loser spot in the main draw after Madison Keys withdrew. After receiving a seeded second-round spot, she has made the most of her opportunity and will now have her sights set on winning the biggest title of her career so far.
Potapova has one clay-court title to her name, which she won in 2022. The world No. 56 has won a total of 3 titles from 6 finals on the WTA Tour.
