MELBOURNE: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova credited experience and a new-found mental toughness for helping her break an Australian Open jinx and move into the quarter-finals for the first time on Sunday.
Her 6-3, 6-3 win over fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova put the 25-year-old into the last eight at Melbourne Park for the first time in nine attempts.
Despite being the 2006 girls champion in Melbourne, Pavlyuchenkova had always struggled to gain traction during the main draw, with Australia the only Slam where the quarters had eluded her -- until now.
"It's super-exciting. I was always wondering why I could never have a good start here in Australia after good pre-season, good off-season, and a lot of practising," she said.
"But now it seems like I found a way, and I'm super-excited to still be in the second week here."
Next up is American great Venus Williams, and she is itching to keep going and make her first ever Grand Slam semi-final.
"Definitely. I want to do my first semi-finals of a Grand Slam or maybe a final, I would love to," said the Moscow-based player.
"That's why I have been working so hard for this moment now."
Pavlyuchenkova has been competing at Grand Slams for a decade without managing to step beyond the quarters, with her career littered with first and second round exits.
But she said being older and more experienced, she was ready for a new chapter.
"Like mentally I'm just taking it differently. I'm more serious, I would say," she said.
"Of course I'm working hard, but I have been working hard before. I guess I just feel more ready now mentally. I'm trying to enjoy and believe in myself more than before.
"And I think just tennis-wise, I think I'm playing better tennis now than I was before, even though I know everyone was telling me, 'Oh yeah, you're capable of doing this and that'. But it's just words.
"Of course I had potential, but I just feel like now I believe in myself more."
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