Zidansek becomes first Slovenian woman to enter a Grand Slam singles quarterfinal

The 23-year-old achieved the feat by beating unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea in straight sets on Sunday at the French Open.

Zidansek waves to the crowd after winning her match on Sunday.

Tamara Zidansek became the first woman from Slovenia to reach the singles quarterfinals of a Grand Slam on Sunday with a 7-6(4), 6-1 victory over unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea at the French Open.

The pair traded breaks in the first two games of a tight opening set on Court Suzanne Lenglen before Zidansek raised her level in the tiebreak to take the advantage in the match when an error-prone Cirstea hit a wild forehand wide.

The 23-year-old Zidansek became more aggressive as Cirstea struggled to move freely because of an ankle issue and raced ahead 5-0 before closing out the victory in 86 minutes.

Zidansek had never been beyond the second round at a Grand Slam before this year's tournament in Paris but it was 2009 Roland Garros quarter-finalist Cirstea who showed signs of nerves at the start of the second set.

Zidansek will face 2019 runner-up Marketa Vondrousova or Spain's Paula Badosa in the last eight.