Restless sleep no handicap for Bacsinszky
PARIS — Sometimes, nerves get the better of Timea Bacsinszky.
The good thing is it happens off the tennis court.
Facing wind, rain and cold and a crowd cheering her French opponent, the 30thseeded Swiss on Tuesday reached the French Open semifinals by defeating 13thseeded Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4 in a match twice interrupted by rain.
It was all the more impressive considering Bacsinszky hardly slept the night before.
“I went to bed more or less at 11 pm,” she said. “I woke up at 4 am because I could not sleep for an hour. Then I went back to sleep, but up earlier than my alarm. My heart was beating really fast.”
Bacsinszky was having a nightmare. She dreamed she had to leave her hotel room and play in another tourna- ment. But at the last minute she realized had forgotten presents for her family.
“I remember that I had, like, three towels that I wanted to give to my siblings because I have three,” she said. “But I forgot them in the closet. So it was a big drama, so I could not get into the plane without giving the towels of the French Open, and I woke up and I was sweating. It was terrible for me.”
Bacsinszky almost quit tennis earlier in her career because of foot and abdominal injuries. She played her first semifinal in Paris two years ago, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams.
Bacsinszky was up a set and a break in the second against Williams before she crumbled and eventually lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
“Serena isn’t taking part in this tournament, so this will help me quite a lot,” Bacsinszky said.
Her opponent for a place in the final will be 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko, who beat Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. They play on Thursday — Ostapenko’s 20th birthday and Bacsinszky’s 28th.
“She’s feisty. I’m no longer feisty. I’m eight years older than her, even though at the French Open I’m in a fighting mood,” Bacsinszky said. “I know it won’t be a bed of roses.”
Serena isn’t taking part in this tournament, so this will help me quite a lot.” Timea Bacsinszky aged just six winners in her three-set loss to Ostapenko. The Latvian fired 38.
Rain, dust ... and boos
Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen courts booed when it was announced that the men’s quarterfinals were being pushed back to Wednesday. A flustered announcer quickly tried to defuse the situation by promising a full ticket refund after just under two hours of action was possible.
Davis Cup changes
Davis Cup matches will be played on a best-of-three set basis instead of the traditional five, organizers announced on Tuesday, as a number of changes were made to the 117year-old event. The team tournament has struggled to get the sport’s top players to commit to it on a regular basis in an already crammed tennis schedule. In a series of reforms, it was announced that all singles matches will be played as best-of-three sets.
Numbers up
5/0 — win/loss record of Ostapenko against Wozniacki
30 — maximum wind speed in km/h as play was disrupted by torrential rain.
44 — double faults served by Kristina Mladenovic in five rounds.