Almost exactly one month ago, Maria Timofeeva lost to a player ranked about 700 spots below her at an event offering total prize money of US $25,000.
MORE: All the results from AO 2024
Now she sits on the cusp a quarterfinal in her Grand Slam main-draw debut and pocketing an amount greater than her previous career earnings.
Great fodder for the video blog the 20-year-old produces with a friend.
“I always felt that I have something in my game that I can pursue,” Timofeeva said. “If I’m in the right mental state, I can play good. So I think now everything is just coming together.
“I’m having one of the best weeks of my life so far.”
Two weeks, to be more precise.
Timofeeva went through qualifying at Australian Open 2024, a feat she failed to accomplish last year at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
But being in a qualifying draw proved to be a lucky charm on at least one occasion last season for the world No.170.
On clay in Budapest in July, she earned a lucky loser spot after thinking her stay in Hungary would be a short one.
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Ranked No.246, she took advantage of her second chance in her maiden WTA main draw, displaying the grit and baseline game – a blend of counterpunching and attack from her 1.67m frame – the tennis world is seeing at Melbourne Park.
Four of her five outings in that tournament extended to three sets, including the final against more experienced foe Kateryna Baindl.
Timofeeva overcame Roland-Garros semifinalist Nadia Podoroska in the last four and former junior star Kaja Juvan in the quarterfinals.
Up to that point, only two lucky losers had won WTA titles in the previous 40 years – the latest being Coco Gauff in Linz in 2019.
Timofeeva ended last season by competing in an exhibition in India, then an ITF tournament in the same country just before Christmas where she exited to the then world No.857 Hiromi Abe. A bout of food poisoning hadn’t helped, but Timofeeva added that Abe played great tennis.
Especially for younger players, form can change quickly and Timofeeva ensured the surprising defeat didn’t linger. She toppled a trio of seasoned players in the first three rounds at AO 2024 to advance to the second week.
First there was Alize Cornet, the French ironwoman who achieved her lone Grand Slam quarterfinal in Melbourne in 2022. Timofeeva emerged triumphant in one of the rallies of the tournament, a 24-shot exchange featuring a Cornet tweener.
Then Timofeeva rallied from a set and break down against AO 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki, who was disappointed in defeat but also praised Timofeeva.
“I don't think I lost focus,” said the former world No.1. “You also have to give credit sometimes to your opponent. She started playing better.
“She played at a very high level. I don't know what she normally plays like, but I think she played very well.”
And on Friday, Timofeeva overturned a 3-0 deficit in the opener and kept her composure in the second set even as a 5-1 lead – and match points – dissipated against 10th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, a Grand Slam semifinalist who appeared in the AO 2022 doubles final.
“Now I know what I’m capable of, that I can compete with these girls,” said Timofeeva. “And I was just curious to see if it’s possible or not, like should we work on something?
“Of course, there’s something to work on. That’s always. Now I am just a bit more confident in my powers, and we will see what it brings us.”
Her next opponent, Marta Kostyuk, has shined at the Australian Open, too, landing in the third round as a 15-year-old qualifier in 2018.
Perhaps it’s why Timofeeva remarked that the Ukrainian has been “I think rocking the WTA since 16 years old.”
Even if she gets knocked out by the 21-year-old, Timofeeva is guaranteed to walk away with $AUD 375,000, a new career high in the rankings of around 100 and plenty of new fans on social media.
Her Instagram following has soared from 6000 to close to 24,000 and more are sure to watch her vlog entitled, ‘Kiss my ace.’ It chronicles her life on the globetrotting tennis tour, similar to the video blog of top-20 regular Daria Kasatkina.
In a recent episode from Dubai, Timofeeva cooked up a flawless-looking omelette.
Another episode detailing her career-changing journey in Melbourne is on the way.
“I actually expected my vlog to be a bit shorter, but now it looks like it's going to be a really long one and very, I would say, intense one, Timofeeva said.