Magdalena Rybarikova’s fairytale run at Wimbledon 2017 continued as she beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3 6-3 to reach her first-ever Grand Slam final. The Slovakian had never made it past the third round of any of the majors before this tournament and lost eight times in the first round at SW19 during the past nine years.

She said, “I was dreaming about it since I was a little kid, to be in the semi-final at Wimbledon. But, before the match, I was still saying to myself, ‘It's great to be quarter-final, just be relaxed, just play your game, and then we'll see what's going to happen.’ Even when I had match points, I was all the time thinking the same: just to be relaxed. I was really not that nervous. Maybe that's why I made it.”

Rybarikova continued, “Wimbledon is my favorite Grand Slam, and grass, is my favorite surface. I really enjoy playing on grass. But it's true, I never played good here. I think I lost eight times in a row in the first round. So, it was a little bit in my head that I just want to pass the first round.”

“I've been playing very well on grass. I won Birmingham (in 2009). Now I won ITF two titles this year (Surbiton and Ilkley) and made the semi-finals in Nottingham, and I won against good players. I still believed I could do well here. Third round was for me already good. I'm not used to playing in the semi-final, obviously. What is happening right now is a dream. I'm so, so grateful for this opportunity.”

Rybarikova had doubts about whether she would ever return to the WTA tour after having two surgeries last year – one on her left wrist and the other on the knee she hyperextended at a tournament in Trnava near her home. She said, “(It was difficult) in January when I realized I could not go to the Australian Open. I was supposed to play there with my protected ranking of 108. The cut is always around there and I realized I would get into the main draw. I was really sad that my knee was not good enough to play.”

She continued, “After Australia, the knee started to feel much better. Then I was just lucky really because I had no issues at all with the wrist or the knee. It was everything step by step. Now it feels really good. But at that moment in January, I was thinking to myself, ‘If this is not going to work, and I need another surgery or something else, I just don't want to hear it.’ I was pretty nervous about it.”

“But then one practice I said, ‘Okay, I have to go through the pain and then we'll see.’ One practice was really painful. I said, ‘Okay, you can destroy your knee, then you will see how it's going to be.’ Funny thing was, next day I felt much better. Maybe my ligaments were not used to the pressure. But then it really felt better and got better every day.”

Rybarikova believes these experiences have freed her from some of the pressure she used to feel on court. She said, “Last year was very difficult for me. I sometimes thought I was never going to come back, and here I am in the semi-final of a Grand Slam. Maybe I just relaxed. I'm really enjoying being on court. Really I'm so grateful and lucky that my health is good (touch wood). I don't have any limits right now. Before I always had issues with my knee or my wrist. Now I can just think about my game, which helps me a lot.”

The Slovakian will play Garbine Muguruza in the last four after the Spaniard produced an accomplished performance to beat 9th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 6-4. Rybarikova said, “She's an amazing player. She's going to be the favorite, but I will enjoy the match and we’ll see what happens. I played her a few years ago on grass and won. But a Wimbledon semi-final is a little bit different. I saw her playing today and she was playing really well, very aggressive. I was very impressed.”

Muguruza was also happy with her own performance. She said, “It means a lot (to progress), especially after losing in the second-round last year. I'm very happy to win because obviously, Kuznetsova is a very tough opponent. We all know she has been and is a great player. I managed to play at a good level throughout the match, so I earned the victory.”

The Spaniard believes she is on a “similar path” to the one she followed to win the 2016 French Open title. She said, “I think a lot of things have to click to be able to win a major. I'm feeling pretty good. I'm being aggressive and not making a lot of errors and I’m feeling physically good. So it's a bunch of things. If you put everything in place, you can produce a very good performance.”

Muguruza also feels the mental side of her game has improved. She said, “Knowing how to deal with these important matches (gives me confidence). I think that's the toughest part. Knowing that you got there, you're playing in the Wimbledon quarter-final, and that is the match you want to play and win. You have to not be too anxious and try to free your mind and just concentrate on the tennis part, not about everything else.”

She continued, “I've been working on that a long time. In the past, I was more emotional. I was showing more emotions on court. Now I'm trying to handle it better. I think that has come with experience. The year I made the final here, I felt like I was a completely different player. Now I feel more solid mentally, and go out there knowing what to do.”