A historic first: Four Romanian tennis players in Madrid Open quarter-finals!

Romanian tennis player Patricia Tig (134^th WTA) has defeated on Wednesday night Madison Keys 6-3, 6-4 at the Mutua Madrid Open to reach the quarter-finals. Previously she defeated Daria Kasatkina (Russia, 32^nd WTA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 and Sloane Stephens (US, 21^st WTA). In the next round on Thursday she will face Samantha Stosur (Australia, 23^rd WTA).

Also on Wednesday Sorana Carstea (127thWTA) defeated Laura Siegemund (44^th WTA) 6-4, 7-6 (9) to go through to the quarter-finals to face Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia, 38^th WTA).

Earlier in the day Irina Begu (34th WTA) defeated Christina McHale (59th WTA) 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4, while Simona Halep (7^th WTA) defeated Karin Knapp (Italy, 75th WTA) 6-1, 6-1. Begu will play against Halep on Thursday.

When the quarterfinals begin at the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday, half of the tournament’s final eight will be flying the Romanian flag with pride. While it’s no surprise to see 2014 finalist Simona Halep in the mix, Romania’s alpha is joined by Irina-Camelia Begu, qualifier Patricia Maria Tig, and wildcard Sorana Cirstea in a tournament owned and operated by Romanian legend Ion Tiriac, wtatennis.com reports.

It seems the Bucharest Open has come a couple of months early.

“It’s a Romanian tournament, I can say,” Halep said with a laugh after her strong 6-2, 6-3 win over Timea Bacsinszky. “I feel [at] home here. I feel good always. I have great memories from 2014. I just try to make it best tournament for myself. I try just to enjoy it, because I like it very much.”

Halep is the only seed left in the draw and will face Begu on Thursday, ensuring Romania will have a representative in the semifinals. Begu has never been further than the quarterfinal stage at a Premier Mandatory, while Halep made back-to-back quarterfinals in March in Indian Wells and Miami. The two have played three times with Halep winning all six sets, but they have not squared off in over four years.

“I expect a tough match,” Halep said. “She plays well on clay. Last year she did quarterfinals here, so [that] means that she likes the court.

“I know her pretty well, since long time ago, but officially we didn’t play too many matches. It’s a big challenge for me tomorrow.”

The big surprises in the draw were Cirstea and Tig. Cirstea has made good on a wildcard into the tournament to make her first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal. The former No.21 has not lost a set in three matches, beating Jelena Jankovic, Danka Kovinic, and Laura Siegemund to join her compatriots among Madrid’s Elite Eight.

“I think that’s amazing,” Cirstea said. “Four girls in the quarterfinals means half of the girls are Romanians, which I think is impressive coming from a country like Romania. I think everyone knows we don’t have a system or anything. We were each separate and trying to find a way. I think it’s amazing that we are one of the biggest forces now in tennis.”