Ostapenko upsets former No .1

PARIS • With the unbridled joy of a kid reaching heights she never has, and the go-for-it strokes of someone too bold to know better, an unseeded 19-year-old from Latvia, Jelena Ostapenko, beat former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 at the French Open on a rainy Tuesday to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

Ostapenko sent shots toward the lines and put them right where she wanted often enough to deliver 38 winners — 32 more than the defensive-minded Wozniacki, a two-time runner-up at majors.

“I knew,” the 47th-ranked Ostapenko said, “I had to be aggressive all match.”

Ostapenko’s next opponent is 30th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, who eliminated 13thseeded Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-4, 6-4.

Both women’s quarter-finals were interrupted twice because of showers; the first delay lasted more than three hours, the second about a half-hour. The men’s quarter-finals involving Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic that had been scheduled for Tuesday were postponed until Wednesday.

When the women’s matches began, the wind averaged 30 km/h., with gusts up to 85 km/h, making balls swerve oddly. Serve tosses were an adventure. Players repeatedly wiped their eyes to get rid of dust kicked up from the clay court.

“We had all the seasons rolled into one today. We had a hurricane, a sandstorm, and we almost had snow, too,” Bacsinszky told the crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier. “It was really tough to keep my concentration all day long. I feel exhausted — and I’m sure you do, too.”

Ostapenko is now 4-0 against Wozniacki. Ostapenko’s rise has been swift. Before last week she had never been past the third round of any Grand Slam tournament in eight appearances.

Now she will play for a berth in the final on Thursday, which just so happens to be Ostapenko’s 20th birthday, and Bacsinszky’s 28th.