Former French Open semifinalist Nadia Podoroska pulled off a comeback late in the deciding set tiebreak to oust fourth seed Tatjana Maria 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(6) in second-round action at the Chennai Open.
The 25-year-old Argentine started the match on the back foot as Wimbledon semifinalist Maria quickly built a 5-0 lead. Podoroska pulled one break back but Maria held her next service game to win the set 6-3.
That little run was enough to give Podoroska some confidence heading into the second set, as she told the press after the match, which she won 6-2.
The final set went down to the wire with both players holding their serve to take the match into a tiebreaker. Maria built a 5-1 lead in it, but Podoroska fought back once again to win seven of the last eight points and complete the win in 2 hours and 46 minutes.
Podoroska, who took a 10-month break after the 2021 US Open to recover from multiple injuries, will meet former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard in Friday's quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, No.2 seed Varvara Gracheva and No.3 seed Magda Linette scored straight-set wins to also move into the last eight. Gracheva defeated Canada's Carol Zhao 6-1, 7-5 while Linette scored a 6-2, 6-0 win over Oksana Selekhmeteva. Gracheva will face Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova next while Linette will square off against Mo.7 seed Rebecca Marino.
Chennai R2 highlights: Swan d. Gasanova | L.Fruhvirtova d. Peterson | Bouchard d. Thandi
Briton Katie Swan also advanced to the first Hologic WTA Tour quarterfinal of her career with a hard-fought straight-sets win over Anastasia Gasanova 7-6(5), 6-2 which lasted two hours and 25 minutes.
In doubles, the Indian duo of Karman Thandi and Rutuja Bhosale were defeated 6-0, 6-3 by the top-seeded pair of Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani, while the unseeded duo of Bouchard and Yanina Wickmayer advanced 5-7, 6-3, [12-10] over Gasanova and Selekhmeteva.
