Bacsinszky to Meet Upstart Ostapenko in Roland Garros Semis

June 6, 2017 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff

Timea Bacsinszky has moved on to the semifinals of the 2017 French Open, getting past Kristina Mladenovic Tuesday in stormy Paris. Steady rains stopped the match on two occasions, as Bacsinszky, the number 30 seed from Switzerland, was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over the hometown favorite Mladenovic, the number 13 seed.

"It was really difficult because we had all the seasons rolled into one today,” Bacsinszky told RolandGarros.com. “We had a sand storm, a hurricane and we almost had snow too. It was really tough to keep my concentration all day long. I’m really happy and proud. For many years, big things have happened for me at Roland-Garros. I’m really happy to be through to my second semifinal here. I feel really privileged."

Mladenovic had captivated the Roland Garros crowd over the past few weeks, having knocked off reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, Italy's Sara Errani, and Americans Jennifer Brady and Shelby Rogers en route to the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Bacsinszky will meet 19-year-old Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, an upset winner Tuesday over former world number one and 11th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. With the win, the unseeded Ostapenko becomes the first Latvian woman to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal in the Open Era.

Like Bacsinszky, Ostapenko’s match was also plagued with rain delays as winds averaged 18 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph, making balls swerve.

“I’m really happy, I still can’t believe it. I’m really happy to play here, it’s an amazing tournament,” said the unseeded Ostapenko. “It was tough because we had to go away from the court twice and Caroline is a tough opponent.

The men's quarterfinals matches, originally scheduled for Tuesday were postponed until Wednesday, when Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta meet in one quarterfinal match, while Dominic Thiem will face the second seeded Novak Djokovic. Those re-scheduled matches will be featured alongside two other men’s quarterfinals matches as the top-seeded Andy Murray faces the number eight seed Kei Nishikori and the number three seeded Stan Wawrinka faces then seventh-seeded Marin Cilic. On the women’s side Wednesday, two quarterfinals matches will feature Caroline Garcia of France facing the number two seed Karolina Pliskova, and Elina Svitolina facing the three seed, Simona Halep.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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