Donna Vekic has qualified for the semifinals of Wimbledon; a deserved and historic milestone, because, thanks to the victory in three sets and a comeback against the surprise New Zealander Lulu Sun, she became the first Croatian tennis player since Mirjana Lucic in 1999 to reach this stage of the Championships. And, more generally, Donna is the second Croatian ever to reach the semifinals of the London Major.
Donna Vekic becomes the 1st Croatian woman to reach the Wimbledon Semifinals since Mirjana Lucic in 1999.
She is only the 2nd Croatian woman in history to achieve this feat.
Monumental moment.
Welcome to history, Donna. 🥹
🇭🇷❤️🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/bN1GovzWuh
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 9, 2024
At the on-court interview, the Croatian expressed her joy and emotion for having reached this prestigious milestone, thanking the people of her team who were in her box to watch her match.
“I have a box full of people up there. Without them, I would not be here.”
Donna Vekic© Clive Brunskill / Staff Getty Images Sport
At the press conference, the media asked Vekic how close she had been to giving up tennis. The Croatian, who suffered injuries and surgeries, told a particular episode about the issue.
“It’s crazy how things can change so quickly in tennis. One of my best friends who is here with me and was with me in Rome, I was talking to her, I was like: Do you remember Rome? After the match. And she was like: Yeah, and now you’re in the semifinals. Not just in tennis, but in life, things can change so quickly. And so there was actually a recent one, and it was the Thursday before Roland Garros this year. I had my training scheduled and I got to the club. I told Nick that I wanted to withdraw from the French Open. I want to go home. I want to take a longer break, because I don’t have the energy or motivation left to continue training or continue pushing. I felt like the last couple of months I had given everything to tennis. I wasn’t getting the results that I was kind of expecting. So it was a very tough moment. But everyone was there for me. That loss in Paris was so painful. But it motivated me again to keep working, to keep pushing. Sometimes it’s not easy, but I think I had to dig deep inside myself and push myself. If I didn’t have the team of people around me, I don’t know how I would find the strength in myself,” she explained.
Our first semi-finalist, @DonnaVekic 💫
She advances to her maiden Grand Slam final four! 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/BLYykiY5Na
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2024