Seventeen-year-old Mirra Andreeva admitted she forgot the pre-match tactics as she came from a set down on Wednesday evening to beat the second seed Aryna Sabalenka to advance to the semi-finals at the French Open.
The Russian won 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Court Philippe Chatrier to become the youngest woman to reach the last four at a Grand Slam tournament since a 16-year-old Martina Hingis achieved the feat on her way to the Australian Open crown in 1997.
"Me and my coach had a plan," Andreeva told on-court interviewer Mats Wilander. "But I didn't remember anything. I played where I wanted."
The free-wheeling probably left coach Conchita Martinez wincing. Unsurprisingly, her charge, who was playing in her first major quarter-final, started the encounter tentatively.
But Sabalenka, seeking to reach the semis for the second successive year, appeared out of sorts despite her customary screeching to accompany her massive whomps of the ball.
Hold
Andreeva eventually got her nose in front and served for the opening set at 5-4. But she fluffed the chance and Sabalenka recovered to 5-5 and subsequently took the set in the tiebreak.
Sabalenka broke at the outset of the second set but failed to consolidate. The 25-year-old Belarusian then hauled Andreeva back in when she led 4-2.
Ultimately the Russian prevailed and they were level after one hour and 46 minutes.
And after trading breaks mid way through decider, Andreeva moved to 5-4 with Sabalenka to serve.
She squandered a point to level at 5-5 and coughed up a match point when she fluffed a drop shot.
That error was remedied with a brutal forehand winner but on the second match point, Sabalenka's forehand drive to Andreeva's backhand lacked penetration and Andreeva, showing savvy beyond her years, played a perfectly disguised lob.
Before the ball bounced, Sabalenka was heading to the net, her French Open dreams in tatters anew.
Advantage
"Having Conchita by my side is a huge advantage," Andreeva told Wilander. "I'm happy she works with me. I was nervous before the match especially as I thought the crowd would be cheering for Aryna."
Addressing the spectators, she added: "I was surprised because you guys cheered for me. Honestly, I didn't expect that. Thank you for cheering for me."
And they cheered some more.
In Thursday's semi-final, Andreeva will take on the 12th seed Jasmine Paolini after the 28-year-old Italian saw off the fourth seed Elena Rybkina 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in just over two hours on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Andreeva won their meeting last month in the fourth round on the clay at the Madrid Open.
"Jasmine moves really fast and hits the ball extremely well," said Andreeva. "I think the match will be like today. I will try to play with a cold head and we'll see what happens."
