Top seed Anastasia Potapova staged a remarkable come-back, recovering from a big second set deficit at the Transylvania Open, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, to complete a 6-4 7-5 win over 113th-ranked Viktorija Golubic from Switzerland, and reach the Last 8.

My team, my close ones, even me, we were all shocked by how mentally strong I could be. Every other person came to me and asked, ‘So what, you two broke up?’ On tour, outside the tour. Of course, it’s not really polite, but it’s life and people are curious. It’s like a TV show for them. I think I needed to put an end to it, to end things officially, so I wouldn’t get those questions anymore. I think that was the last step I needed to finally set myself free. Anastasia Potapova

Early in the first set, the Russian was twice down by a break, but managed to claw her way back each time, before breaking the Swiss again in the 10th game to seal the opener, and while taking two medical time-outs in the process.

After missing out on her first set opportunities, Golubic opened up a 5-1 lead in the second, and also held a set point on the Potapova serve.

Just a point away from easily losing the set, Potapova miraculously began her come-back.

First, she saved the set point on her serve before getting one break back in the 8th game, and then, in the next, the Russian saved 3 more set points before breaking Golubic in the 10th and 12th games to completely overturn the deficit, and get the job done in straight sets.

For a place in the semi-final, the No 1 seed will do battle with 143rd-ranked Ella Seidel from Germany, after the teenager upset Anna Blinkova from Russia, the World No 71 and a finalist here last year, 6-2 7-6(5), to reach her 3rd career tour-level quarter-final..

23-year old Potapova has opened up about her personal situation, following her divorce from ATP star Alexander Shevchenko last year after just 10 months of marriage.

The Russian admitted that it had not an easy life decision, and also revealed that she decided to publicly announce it in November because she wanted to ‘set myself free’.

“My team, my close ones, even me, we were all shocked by how mentally strong I could be,” Potapova told Sofya Tartakova for Bolshe. “Every other person came to me and asked, ‘So what, you two broke up?’ On tour, outside the tour.

“Of course, it’s not really polite, but it’s life and people are curious. It’s like a TV show for them. I think I needed to put an end to it, to end things officially, so I wouldn’t get those questions anymore. I think that was the last step I needed to finally set myself free.”

WTAtennis.com

Meanwhile, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, the 7th seed, was a 6-3 6-0 winner over Romanian wild-card Ana Bogdan, taking just 69 minutes to set up an all-Italian quarter-final with Lucia Bronzetti, who upset American 3rd seed Peyton Stearns, 6-2 7-6(1), in her Last 16 match.

Bronzetti fired 8 aces, without a double-fault, to advance after an hour and 30 minutes.

Czech 5th seed Katerina Siniakova battled past another American, Caroline Dolehide, a qualifier, 2-6 6-1 6-4, in 2 hours and 9 minutes, and now meets Bulgaria’s Viktorya Tomova for a place in the semi-finals.