Nadia Podoroska: from Alicante to glory at Roland Garros

Nadia Podoroska (Rosario, 23 years old) reached the biggest milestone of her career this Friday at Roland Garros, qualifying for the first round of 16 of a Grand Slam after beating the Slovakian Schmiedlova, who had eliminated Azarenka in the second round. She is the first Argentine tennis player to go this far in a major since Gisela Dulko, who did it precisely in Paris in 2011.

The fact is that Podoroska has a strong link with Spain, because she trains in Alicante, at the Tennis + or Tennis Positivo academy, assembled by his compatriots and former players Emiliano Redondi and Juanpi Guzmán. “The money I'm earning with these results helps me and my team be calmer, they deserve it for the great job they have done with me. So we can continue, because not long ago I was not sure I could do it ”.

For Nadia, what she has achieved is “like a dream come true”. “An amazing tournament for me, I did not expect it and I am very happy,” she said at a press conference. “During the last months I have felt more confident about my game, during the quarantine I have improved my game a lot, but I think this it's a process ”, he explains, referring to the method with which he works at Tennis + and which has made him grow in recent months and reach the position he is in: “It comes now because I stopped looking for it. When I was younger, the cravings, the longing and the desire to be there were so many that it was harmful. Now I am in a process, because I do not expect a result but I am sure of what I have to improve ”. As a girl, she says that she liked to follow the sport she does now: “I always liked watching tennis, and I saw the Williamses, Halep, I would like to play a bit like that. And I followed the Argentine Legion, Gabi Sabatini's reference is important to me ”.

As for his plans, he is clear: “The objectives are the same, to continue growing as a player, to improve the serve, the evolution, the net game. Money helps me and my team to be calmer. Not long ago I wasn't sure I could do it ”.