Donna Vekic had thought a couple of times about quitting tennis, like when she struggled to get back to her best after a knee surgery in 2021.

Now she’s happy she stuck with it.

The 28-year-old Croatian reached her first grand slam semi-final in her 43rd appearance at a major tournament by beating qualifier Lulu Sun 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

“Those couple of years were very tough. I didn’t think I was ever going to come back to the level that I even had last year,” she said. “So this now, reaching my best result ever at a slam, I’m really proud of myself, of the work that I’ve done, of the work that my team has done. I’m very thankful to them for believing in me when I didn’t.”

She will face French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini for a spot in the final. Paolini, the No. 7 seed, beat No. 19 Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-1 to become the first Italian woman to reach the semi-finals at the All England Club.

Before the French Open this year, Vekic said, she wanted to give up. She lacked energy and didn’t even want to practice.

“Now I’m in the semi-finals. I think not just in tennis, in life things can turn pretty fast,” she said.

It’s only the second time a woman representing Croatia has reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, after Mirjana Lucic in 1999.

The 23-year-old Sun was making her debut at the grass-court tournament and is the first player from New Zealand to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in the Open era.

“I’ve had really great matches here at Wimbledon,” said Sun, who beat 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu on Centre Court in the fourth round.

“I think just energy from New Zealand fans and other fans, as well, is such a surreal moment for me that I definitely won’t forget.”

AP/PTI