Kim Birrell flies into Brisbane International quarterfinals, beating Anastasia Potapova

Kim Birrell hopped into the centre of the court, a smile as wide as the Story Bridge beaming across her face as the 5,500 spectators on Pat Rafter Arena lauded her achievement.

Here she is, one of their own, a Gold Coaster who trains week-in, week-out at the Queensland Tennis Centre, into the Brisbane International quarterfinals for the first time.

After downing number two-seed Emma Navarro in straight sets the previous day, Birrell backed up that hugely impressive performance with another display of clean, fearless hitting on her home court to down world number 35 Anastasia Potapova in straight sets, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in an hour and 46 minutes.

Birrell radiated joy on the court following her win and an hour’s break before speaking to the press did little to dampen her exuberance.

“I’m really happy with how I played today,” Birrell said.

“I was really determined to back up how I played yesterday, it’s just so much fun playing in front of the home crowd. The atmosphere has been incredible.

“Yeah, just really enjoying it. I think that’s showing in my tennis.”

Birrell had things far from her own way.

Potapova, who has flirted with the world’s top 20 over the past two seasons and been a top 100 player since 2018, broke the Aussie immediately and consolidated to lead 2-0.

Birrell settled on her next service game and broke back immediately thereafter, the pair slugging out an hour and 6 minutes of brutal, attritional tennis before Birrell came out on top of a tie breaker.

Potapova, a player who is not shy about broadcasting her emotions, was getting increasingly ragged, pointedly staring at her corner and gesticulating to all around, a stark contrast to the calm stoicism on the other side of the net from Birrell.

The 26-year-old Australian broke early in the second set and, after a ferocious battle to hold, then blew past her Russian rival to complete a straight-sets victory.

Two consecutive victories against opponents ranked inside the top 100 for the first time since the Mérida Open in February 2023 — it’s hard to argue that this is not her level.

“In the past, I have had some big results, it’s really nice to prove to myself that I can play that way consistently,” Birrell said.

“That’s a really big goal of mine moving into this year, just backing up day after day, week after week.

“I’ve been told by people, my coaches and family, that I have that level. Now to really prove it to myself feels very good.

“I have much bigger goals than just reaching the top 100. I want to be comfortably inside the top 100.”

Birrell has come so far from the injury-ravaged youngster who reached the last 16 in Brisbane in 2019.

The tumult of those elbow injuries that saw her miss so much tennis between July 2019 and January 2022 gave Birrell cause to believe she would never achieve such heights as she enjoyed in the 2019 Brisbane International again.

There, she won her first-ever match against a top 10-ranked opponent, 10th-ranked Daria Kasatkina, before injuries took their toll.

Since her return to the world’s top 200 in 2022, she has steadily built on the promise she had as a junior, making a WTA final in Osaka last year — and appears set for another promising season based on this impressive early season form.

This win puts her in 99th place in the live world rankings, unofficially cracking the world’s top 100 for the first time in her career and propelling her into the position of Australia’s number one.

Birrell now awaits the winner of the clash between Ukraine’s 55th-ranked Anheline Kalinina and China’s 49th-ranked Yue Yuan, neither of whom she has ever played before.

Both women are ranked higher than Birrell, but that aside, the draw towards the final looks tantalisingly open with seeds falling with regularity on the bottom half of the draw.

“I will never beat myself going into any match,” Birrell said.

“Otherwise, there’s no point in even stepping out on the court.

“Crazier things have happened, I’ll continue to take it one match at a time.

“But I will just continue to believe and hope to play as many matches as possible out there.”