World number 85 Tamara Zidansek became the first woman from Slovenia to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam at the French Open on Tuesday, while Stefanos Tsitsipas hopes to stay on course for a first major final when he meets rival Daniil Medvedev. The unheralded Zidansek advanced 7-5, 4-6, 8-6 against Spain's Paula Badosa and will play Kazakh 21st seed Elena Rybakina or 31st-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia for a place in Saturday's final. "I'm really, really happy to be in the semi-finals," said Zidansek, who had never gone beyond the second round of a Slam before this year's Roland Garros. Zidansek recovered from 3-0 and a double break down in the first set and then saved three break points at 6-6 in the decider against Badosa, the 33rd seed with the most clay court wins (17) on the WTA tour this season.

The Slovene took her second match point to continue her breakout performance. She is two wins away from emulating Maribor-born Mima Jausovec, who won Roland Garros in 1977 while representing Yugoslavia. Later, Greek fifth seed Tsitsipas will try to reach a third successive major semi-final, having lost a thrilling a five-setter to Novak Djokovic in Paris last year. Blocking his path is second seed Medvedev, the Russian who hadn't won a match in four previous visits to the French Open but has looked increasingly assured on clay over the past week. Medvedev, a runner-up at the 2019 US Open and this year's Australian Open finalist, holds a 6-1 head-to-head advantage over Tsitsipas. He beat the Greek in straight sets in the last four in Melbourne in their most recent meeting. "He does serve extremely well, I have to say. He has improved over the years with his serve. This is going to be something that I will have to face," said Tsitsipas, who compared Medvedev's serve to that of John Isner. "Of course, myself playing well, I feel like I don't have to think against who I'm facing or not, I just have to play my game, let the rest be witnessed." Medvedev could take over the number one ranking if he reaches the final and Djokovic does not.