Latent heat: Tsvetana Pironkova

20 year old Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova has been considered one of the most promising players since she reached the Top 100 in 2005 being just 17 years old. Although in 2006 and 2007 she kept into the Top 100, her progression seemed to be stuck.
But last week she got back into the spotlight upsetting 1st seed and world's #2 Ana Ivanovic in the big Tier I of Rome. Pironkova went through the qualy and won 5 matches in a row, including victories over Ivanovic and Berlin's semifinalist Victoria Azarenka in the 3rd round to reach the quarters, where she lost to Anna Chakvetadze in 3 sets. With this result she broke into the Top 50 for the first time in her career, reaching a career-high ranking at #47.


And this week she's going to improve that career-high ranking again, as she has reached the semis in the WTA tournament in Istambul, where she has been defeated by 2nd seed Agnieszka Radwanska, again in 3 sets. She's yet to win a title and even to reach a WTA final, but it seems that promising Tsvetana is finally turning into a reality.