Patricia Maria Tig says she is determined to make up for lost time after dethroning Anastasija Sevastova to reach the Bucharest Open quarter-finals on home soil.
Tig is making her first WTA main-draw appearance since 2017 after suffering from injuries and then giving birth to a daughter in the past year.
The 24-year-old qualifier is making her mark in her homeland and took out top seed Sevastova 6-2 7-5 on Thursday, setting up a last-eight encounter with Kristyna Pliskova.
"I missed tennis and now, I'm trying to enjoy every moment of it. I hope more mothers will play, because women need to see that this is not something impossible to do," said Tig.
"I don't feel inferior to any player. I know that if I go on court and give my best, I can win the match too."
Patricia Maria Tig claims it!
— WTA (@WTA) July 18, 2019
She moves past Sevastova 6-2, 7-5. #BRDBucharestOpen pic.twitter.com/rxqTpsrGIJ
Martina Di Giuseppe advanced when Veronika Kudermetova – who had taken the first set 6-2 and was trailing 5-4 in the second – retired, while Aliona Bolsova ended her contest with Barbora Krejcikova at 6-0 3-2 down due to an ankle injury.
Fourth seed Mihaela Buzarnescu bowed out of the Ladies Open Lausanne with a 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 defeat at the hands of Fiona Ferro.
Samantha Stosur saw off Allie Kiick 6-3 7-5, while Jil Teichmann and Tamara Korpatsch also advanced to the quarter-finals.