Wimbledon (CNN)Wimbledon, Tachiyana Maria heads to practice. Even though she wouldn't hit the ball, it's the daily rituals that have helped her a lot throughout the tournaments so far.
That's because her 8-year-old daughter, Charlotte, is an up-and-coming tennis star training every morning. Later that day, Maria will be on the court herself. This meant claiming the biggest win of her career and the spot in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Tuesday.
34-year-old Maria, who defeated German Jules Niemeier 4-6 6-2 7-5, is striking at SW19, 15 months after the birth of her second daughter, Cecilia. I continued to run. ..
"It's a dream," she said in a court interview, "a dream of living this with my family and two girls. I just gave birth a year ago."
Prior to this year's Wimbledon, Maria had never advanced beyond the third round of the Grand Slam tournament in 34 attempts. Then it's no wonder she was applauded by the First Court, the place of victory for the battle on Tuesday, and admitted that she had a "goose bump everywhere."
But when she prepares for the semi-final with Ons Jabeur in Tunisia, it is unlikely that Maria will change her motherhood and her daily life juggling tennis.
"I'm in the Wimbledon semifinals and I'm crazy, but I'm still a mom. Then I go over there to meet the kids and do the same for everyone. Day." She told reporters.
"I change everything in Pampers as usual. I try to keep (things) as normal as possible. That's what makes me most proud-Mom.
Maria follows in the footsteps of Venus and Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, and Billie Jean King to reach the Grand Slam Final Four after her 34th birthday. Became the sixth woman of the era.
Her journey to get there was not easy. Four of her five games at Wimbledon were three sets, and she needed to save points against Elena Ostapenko in the fourth round.
However, Maria showed that her court battle and dismantling were her essence. She bounced off to 22-year-old Nee Meyer from losing her first set and losing her second set, after which she proved that she had recovered from the breakdown and won the third set. did.
"It's a little my life to show everyone that I'm still here, a fighter, and still dreaming," Maria said. "That's what I want to show to my kids."
Against her knee meyer, she irritated her opponent with slice shots from both the forehand and backhand.
She finds the second rhythm, secures a break 2-1 and 5-2, and is the winner of the forehand volley after Knee Meyer is forced to play leg-to-leg shots from behind. And of the court that leveled the match.
Neemeier played in her second Grand Slam, but seems to be ranked 97th in the world with 6th place in Maria and dominate the game with a break in the third set. But the contradiction was her redo.
She ended the contest with 11 double faults (all in the first two sets) and Maria's 34 49 forced errors. , And when Maria scored the first of the two matchpoints in the third set, the crowd responded with a standing applause.
"I'm happy to be able to do that even when I'm 4-2 down in the third set," she said. "I continued, I continued to fight."
Last year, after coach husband Charles proposed to switch to one-handed backhand only, Maria had many spins and slices. Fine-tuned the unorthodox play style with. The second half of their career.
But despite the risks, Maria says it's been a "very important" shot in her game.
"At first, it's not that easy because you need confidence, you need to play shots, and you need to gain confidence in your shots," she said. "I continued, and it's getting better and better."
Whether it's tennis or her life, the changes clearly suit Maria. She won her second WTA title in Bogotá, Colombia in April and is now enjoying her best-ever run in the Grand Slam.
"A year ago I gave birth to my second daughter. If someone tells me a year later, you're in the Wimbledon semifinals-it's crazy," she said.
Still, her daughter seems to enjoy the Wimbledon experience as much as her mother, so she continues her practice with Charlotte every morning.
"Charlotte-she's happy to be able to stay in Creche for another two days," Maria laughs.
"She realized it was so special that when she saw her after (the match) she hit my arm and was very proud of me."
