By Karolos Grohmann
PARIS (Reuters) – Italian world number 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 quarter-final 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 quarter-finalist 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 U.S. 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 semi-final.
“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.”
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Clare Fallon)
