Ostapenko, Bacsinszky light up dull day
FRENCH OPEN Teenage Latvian slays Wozniacki while Swiss challenger accounts for Mladenovic in quarters hit by rain I am sure everyone will join me... we share our thoughts and prayers with everyone who has been affected.
Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky shocked a much higherranked Kristina Mladenovic of France in the French Open quarterfinals after winning the tie 6-4, 6-4. Rain played spoilsport on Tuesday as the women competitors had to leave the court a few times as their matches were interrupted.
At the final rain interruption, the Swiss was comfortably in lead 6-4, 4-3, having secured a break in the second set and sealed the match immediately on return. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Latvian sensation Jelena Ostapenko sprung a surprise when she tamed favourite and 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki in another quarterfinal. She won 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Having lost the first set, Ostapenko bounced back in the second set which was disrupted by rain. On return she closed the set to leave the Danish star in a fix. However, just as the third set was gathering steam with Wozniacki hitting back, showers returned to stop play.
At the time of rain break, the match was poised with Ostapenko serving 4-6, 6-2, 1-2. On return, it seemed that Wozniacki had lost focus.
Having lost the first five games of the match, Ostapenko won 10 of the next 13 as she wrapped up the second set. The youngster struggled in the extremely blustery conditions earlier in the day but since the wind dropped she began to look a much better player.
The Latvian’s power proved too much for Wozniacki. It was no wonder that the Latvian had won their two previous meetings on clay.
Even in the first set, Ostapenko showed why she is rated so high. She was down 0-5 and then raced her way, winning the next four games to bounce back into contention. However, just as she looked should would stretch Wozniacki in the first set, she allowed Wozniacki a 0-40 lead in the blink of an eye. A netted forehand allowed Wozniacki to take the first set.
In a very close contest, Bacsinszky and Mladenovic exchanged breaks of serve throughout the first set but Bacsinszky got the better of it winning it 6-4. The first set proved topsy-turvy In the first eight games, with the scoreline at 4-4, there were four games that went with the serve and four breaks.
In the second too, the match was closely fought. On return from rain break, there were no surprises as both Mladenovic and Bacsinszky held their serves.
While torrential rain had played havoc with the women’s quarterfinals, it forced Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s quarterfinals to be delayed until Wednesday.
Nine-time champion Nadal is due to take on compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta, while titleholder Djokovic faces sixth seed Dominic Thiem in a repeat of last year’s semi-final.