'Lucky loser' Solana Sierra continues historic run at Wimbledon

Last Thursday, Sierra suffered an agonising loss in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying, falling 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to Talia Gibson, despite holding a 5-3 lead in the decider.

However, while Gibson would be beaten by Naomi Osaka in the opening round of the main draw, Lady Luck was on Sierra's side.

The withdrawal of Greet Minnen saw the Argentinian enter the draw as a lucky loser and, just 15 minutes after finding out she would play, defeated Olivia Gadecki to pick up her first main draw SW19 win.

That was followed by a three-set triumph over home favourite Katie Boulter â- on Court 1 no less â- before another gritty three-set win over Busca on Friday.

After losing a lopsided second set and being broken early in the decider, her hopes looked over.

But an extraordinary surge from the 21-year-old saw her retake complete control, before battling her way to victory on Court 12.

"It was really tough," said Sierra in her post-match press conference. "I started really well in the first set and she started to play really well. I think we had a great level.

"In the second set, I didn't play too good, but she was playing good also. But, I think the key was to stay positive and fight for every point. That's what I did in the third set.

"There was just a lot of happiness [after the match], with my team, my mum was there also, so it was very emotional.

"Last year, I played all the qualies of the Grand Slams. I think it was a really great experience, but this year I have another mentality, that I believe more in myself, and believe that I can do better in the bigger tournaments and the Grand Slams."

Before Wimbledon, Sierra had never won a Grand Slam match, though she is now the first lucky loser in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of the women's singles event.

Her extended run continues a crazy week for the 21-year-old, who has had to move apartments four times during her time in London, including after her win versus Boulter in the second round.

All this comes as a huge positive to Sierra, who has previously trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy and looks to the likes of Gabriela Sabatini and David Nalbandian as her idols.

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