Paris (AFP) - Daria Kasatkina said Rafael Nadal's late-night "fighting spirit" in defeating Novak Djokovic to make the French Open quarter-finals inspired her to secure a maiden Grand Slam semi-final spot on Wednesday.
Kasatkina claimed a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) victory over fellow Russian, Veronika Kudermetova and will take on world number one Iga Swiatek on Thursday for a place in Saturday's championship match.
"Rafa was my idol since I'm a kid.When I was small I was trying to copy his game," said the 25-year-old.
"It's so obvious that he's the best fighter in the history of sport maybe.You can have the best backhand, forehand, serve, forever, but if you cannot fight, you cannot win.So I think the fighting spirit is the most important."
Nadal's four-set win over defending champion Djokovic in a match which finished at 1:15am Wednesday proved a roller-coaster for the Russian.
Kasatkina, who was playing the opening match on Court Philippe Chatrier, said she had gone to sleep Tuesday with Nadal a set and a double break ahead.
"I put my laptop away and I fell asleep.But I'm really happy for Rafa because I cannot imagine how tough were the circumstances," she added.
"I mean, he's saying that can be his last match at Roland Garros and I cannot imagine how can you go on the match with this feeling.So another time he shows like how strong he is mentally."
Kasatkina, playing in her third career quarter-final at the Slams but first since 2018, has made the semis without dropping a set.
Kudermetova was in her first quarter-final at the majors and the tension was apparent as she committed 50 unforced errors and had to save 12 of 17 break points.
"You could see that the match was really nervous and tight, especially the tie-break," said Kasatkina, a former junior champion in Paris.
"The last few points were super-tight.I'm happy at the end that I won.I'm happy to be in the semis for the first time."
She added: "My box were pretty nervous, especially at the end.Thank you guys and keep calm - it's OK!"
The 25-year-old Kudermetova needed a medical timeout at 5-6 in the second set and fought off four match points in the tiebreak.
Kasatkina, however, secured victory on her fifth match point courtesy of a sweetly-timed backhand drop shot.
