Pironkova overcomes 'impossible,' doubles up on Wimbledon magic

Welcome to Wimbledon Flashbacks, where wtatennis.com will take a look back at some of the most memorable narratives from The Championships over the past 20 years. After recapping Birmingham's best battles and excellent Eastbourne encounters, our retrospective heads to the lawns of SW19. Next up is the a recap of the Wimbledon exploits of Tsvetana Pironkova, who had a stunning run to the final four in 2010 - and followed that up with a quarterfinal effort the next year in a thrilling sequel.

For more classic moments, check out our other Wimbledon Flashbacks:
1999: Qualifier Dokic dispatches top seed Hingis in first-round stunner
1999: Stevenson topples Raymond in all-American 1999 thriller
2003: Navratilova shows her class at 46 to win title 20 alongside Paes
2005: Venus, Davenport contest classic clash in enthralling 2005 final
2009: Safina, Mauresmo christen Centre Court roof with Manic Monday epic
2012: Immaculate Shvedova unlocks historic Golden Set
2013: Lisicki's upset streak peaks during run to 2013 Wimbledon final
2015: Hingis, Mirza dominate at Wimbledon in historic triumph
2017: Returning Rybarikova stuns Pliskova in 2017 Cinderella run
2019: From qualifying to Centre Court, Gauff's star rises at SW19

THE MOMENT: They say sequels aren't as good as the original, but for Tsvetana Prionkova, the 2010 and 2011 Wimbledon Championships are equally important in her career history. 

Having made her WTA main draw debut in 2005, Pironkova first earned herself international recognition with a dramatic 2–6, 6–0, 9–7 win over Venus Williams in the first round of the 2006 Australian Open while ranked World No.95, but entered Wimbledon in 2010 as a wily 22-year-old who had yet to advance past the second round of a Grand Slam.  

With a 1-4 career record at Wimbledon, but armed with a big serve, a world-class two-handed backhand and a willingness to employ a tricky slice forehand, Pironkova went on to flip past performance on its head: without losing a set in five matches, the Bulgarian authored a stunning run to the semifinals while ranked World No.82.

After beating a trio of Russians - Anna Lapushchenkova, Vera Dushevina and Regina Kulikova - to reach the round of 16, Pironkova upset former finalist and future champion Marion Bartoli to set up a meeting with title favorite and No.2 seed Williams in the last eight.

From beginning to end in the last eight encounter, Pironkova dominated - breaking Williams' serve three times and flummoxing the seven-time Grand Slam champion into a flurry of unforced errors - to win the match, 6-2, 6-3, and advance to the final four.

And alongside the famous victory came an all-time soundbite: with reporters probing the upstart for her tennis origins after the match, Pironkova revealed that there were no grass courts in the country of Bulgaria. 

"Back then, I thought, 'Wow, it's impossible. How can I play on this surface?,'" she recalled of her Wimbledon debut in 2005. "But with every match that I play on grass I feel better and better.

"Wimbledon has always been like a religion to me. And I don't think it's just for me. I think it's for all of the players.

"Coming here, I really just wanted to play a good game, to maybe win or two rounds... This is truly like a dream to me, and I will try to enjoy it as much as I can."

Read more: Graf holds off Venus, Serena’s surges and more Wimbledon quarterfinals

In the next round, Pironkova even found herself one set away from an all-time Cinderella story, as she captured the first set against No.21 seed Vera Zvonareva on Centre Court in the semifinals.

The Russian ultimately rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory to reach her own maiden major final, but Pironkova had nonetheless served notice that she would be a looming threat to the game's best in the seasons to come, particularly on grass.

THE MEANING: By virtue of her run in 2010, Pironkova became the first Bulgarian player to advance that far at a Grand Slam in nearly 20 years - since Manuela Maleeva did so at the US Open in 1992 and 1993.

Alongside Petra Kvitova, who was ranked World No.62 coming into the tournament and lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in the final four, the pair were the first unseeded duo to reach the round since 1999.

With the pressure on 12 months later to recoup some of the ranking points from her breakthrough run, Pironkova's second act was nearly as good as her first.

Read more: Kerber, Lisicki, Cibulkova bring fourth-round fire with epic battles

Seeded No.32, the right-hander again steamrolled through the first four rounds without the loss of a set. She exacted a measure of revenge on her semifinal conquerer from the previous year, the now-No.2 seed Zvonareva, 6-2, 6-3, before again defeating Williams in a near-identical performance, 6-2, 6-3.

"I would say I played better than last year. But I think [Venus] started very well. I think she started very well the match, but I kept pushing her," Pironkova said.

"It definitely helps that I played with her before. And the thing that I won her last year also helps. I couldn't say that I know how to play her because every time is different.

"I don't go on the court with a strategy in my head. When I go on the court, I see what's working, what's not working, and I try to play the best way that I can."

Pironkova was defeated in the last eight by Kvitova, the No.8 seed and eventual champion, in a thrilling three-setter, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2, - with the two coming full circle from unseeded surprises to bonafide contenders.

In the subsequent seasons, the Bulgarian continued to outperform her ranking on the game's biggest stages, both at the All-England Club and otherwise.

She reached the fourth round of the US Open in 2012, returned to the second week of Wimbledon in 2013 and won her first WTA singles title at the Premier event in Sydney in 2014 as a qualifier, beating three Top 10 players along the way. 

Her deepest run at a Grand Slam in subsequent years came not on the British lawns, but on the red clay of Paris, as she reached the quarterfinals in 2016. Ranked outside the Top 100, Pironkova pulled off four victories, the most dramatic of which came over No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the round of 16. Trailing 6-3, 3-0, Pironkova came from behind - and overcame two days' worth of rain - to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. 

But following a second round loss at Wimbledon in 2017 to Caroline Wozniacki, Pironkova was sidelined indefinitely with a shoulder injury before giving birth to a son two years ago - but that hiatus might be set to end when the tour resumes.

Earlier this year, the 32-year-old took to social media to announce her intentions to return to competitive tennis.