"This has truly made my life, and everything bad that has happened, it has made it OK and the fact that I was this strong and that it was worth fighting this hard is incredible."
At 34 years of age and 18 tumultuous, difficult years since her first and last grand slam semi-final appearance, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni has won through to another grand slam semi.
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Mirjana Lucic-Baroni's fairytale comeback
34-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni breaks down on Rod Laver Arena after winning through to a grand slam semi after more than a decade of hardship.
Long years of unspecified extreme difficulties in her life – an abusive father, financial trouble, injuries – had denied her the fulfilment of promise that had her dubbed the next Steffi Graf as a teenager. Now, 18 years later, the next big thing was overcome with emotion that she had finally, at length, made it back.
The troubles she has confronted for more than a decade were washed away in this tearful moment.
"One day I will say a long, big story about the things that happened to me, but I never could dream about being here again." And she cried. The crowd cheered not to cheer her up, but respectfully, warmly, to acknowledge her pain and her joy.
"This means a lot to every player to come and reach a semi-final but to me this is overwhelming after everything I have been through. I will never, ever forget this day and this last couple of weeks."
Ranked 79 in the world, Lucic-Baroni defeated Czech fifth seed Karolina Pliskova in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, to advance to take on another 30-something in Serena Williams.
Of the four women semi-finalists at this year's Open - Lucic-Baroni, Williams, Coco Vandewghe and Venus Williams - three are older than 30, with Vandeweghe at 25 the youngest contender.
![Mirjana Lucic-Baroni said her victory made the bad things in her life "OK".](/web/20170423154304im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/y/e/6/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtybpi.png/1485331924820.jpg)
Lucic-Baroni is the only non-American among the semi-finalists.
On court at the end of her last match she swore in disbelief and pride at what she had been able to achieve so far. She did not varnish her emotion.
![An emotional Mirjana Lucic-Baroni falls to the ground after her win.](/web/20170423154304im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/y/e/6/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtybpi.png/1485331924820.jpg)
"I cannot believe this. This is crazy. God is good, that's really all I can say. I can't believe I am in a semi-final again. I feel a little bit in shock, really."
Her God was with her this day. At the second-last change of ends she was behind and went off court for an injury break to attend to her left leg. She had heavy strapping around her thigh and tape around her calf. She was more cloth than flesh.
She returned and did not lose a point in the next two games. At the next change of ends she sat down knowing she had to serve for the match. She put rosary beads around her neck and tucked them into her shirt. She had to go back out and serve for the match staring straight into the sun at the end where neither player could hold serve. Her prayers were answered. She held serve and won.
"It was impossible, they need to change the centre court," she said of the sun at that end at that time of day. "
"It was really tough. The sunglasses didn't do anything. It's really hard to see but I was calm."
Later once she had dried the tears, showered, calmed and digested her achievement she walked into her press conference and was still overwhelmed at what she had done.
Asked inoccuously about putting the rosary around her neck before the last change she welled to tears and put her head in her hands. She was closer to the brink in the match than we had known.
"It was really difficult because when I took the medical timeout, I wasn't really sure how I was feeling. I felt in that moment only God can help me," she said.
"And yeah, it was just something I didn't think about. It was just something that helped me be strong. I didn't really plan it. I didn't think about it. It just kind of was a thing I did. Yeah (it was) the grace of God.
She remains conflicted about explaining her back story. She is torn between wanting to correct assumptions and fully explain what happened in those years that should have been her playing prime and wanting to block it all out and keep it private.
"I kind of want to be known as amazing fighter, a person who persevered against everything, against all odds. And that's what I take pride in. So I don't know. Who knows? We will see," she said.