Kiki Bertens

Kiki Bertens makes the French Open semis: Who’s she, really?

Who is Kiki Bertens?

Sure, she’s that unseeded Dutchwoman who’s reeled off 12 wins in a row over the past two weeks to make the semi-finals of the French Open.

She now faces  top seed Serena Williams this afternoon.

We all know that—now.

But where was this wonder-woman prior to this?

What’s her record?

Her best result in a Grand Slam was at the 2014 French Open—again—where she made the fourth round as a qualifier.

It’s on clay that Bertens has really shined—taking a liking to the surface and clinching two WTA singles titles.

That explains a lot.

What’s her head-to-head record against the other three semi-finalists?

Bertens has played Samantha Stosur and Williams just once—losing to them in the Slams—the French Open and the US Open respectively.

She has a much more formidable record against Spaniard Garbine Muguruza holding a 3-0 lead. But these wins were aeons ago—the last one coming in 2014.

But her performances at Roland Garros so far have been stellar.

Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, Daria Kasatkina , fifteenth seed Madison Keys and eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky.

Can it get better than that?

It surely can.

Maybe Williams will have an off day.

It won’t be easy. Bertens is carrying a left-calf injury.

And then, we could have a new French Open women’s champion.

Stosur, Muguruza, Bertens.

Take your pick.

Muguruza’s been close before losing last year’s Wimbledon final.

Stosur has the US Open to her credit and has made a French Open final before falling to Francesca Schiavone.

It’s all good for women’s tennis—the more competitive the better.

But the news story of the year , of course, would be Bertens doing a mini-Leicester.

Can she? Will she?

Your guess is as good as mine.