Bacsinszky, Ostapenko seek birthday cheer
FRENCH Open semifinalists Timea Bacsinszky and Jelena Ostapenko both celebrate their birthdays today, but the Swiss star insists she’ll be happy to ruin the party for her close friend.
Bacsinszky reached the Roland Garros semifinals for the second time on Tuesday with a rain-hit 6-4, 6-4 win over home hope Kristina Mladenovic. Bacsinszky, who made the last four in 2015, will face unseeded Ostapenko, who stunned Danish 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, for a place in Saturday’s final.
But today’s last-four duel also falls on the day when world No31 Bacsinszky turns 28, while 47th-ranked Ostapenko (pictured, AFP) is 20.
“It’s a nice story, pretty cool,” said Bacsinszky, who was already aware of the quirk in the calendar. “We played doubles together in Wuhan last year and we have practised a lot together.
“She’s a really nice girl. We saw each other in the gym after today’s matches and congratulated each other and hugged.
“Yeah, it’s pretty funny we have the same birthday. Lucky for her that she’s just 20 – but maybe lucky for me as I have more experience!”
Bacsinszky, playing in her third successive French Open quarterfinal, will be the favourite today.
Ostapenko has never made the semis of a major. Before Roland Garros rros she had never got past the third rd round. The Latvian is hoping to become the first player since e Gustavo Kuerten at the 1997 7 French Open to win his or her first tour-level title at a Grand rand Slam.
Kuerten’s ’s breakthrough triumph at Roland Garros coincidentally came on the very sameame day that Ostapenko penko was born.
B a c s i n s z k y, m e a n w h i l e , knows what it’s like to be on the semifinal stage, going three sets before losing to Serena Williams in Paris in 2015. “There has always been a kind of magic here for me, me,” said the Swiss star after Tuesday’s rain-interrupted match that took almost s i x hours to c o m - plete. “Even the first time I came here as a little kid, there’s been a special bond.”
Despite that attachment, she admitted she was struck by nervous anxiety on the eve of Tuesday Tuesday’s quarterfinal.
She evenev woke up in a sweat at four in the morning, dazed by a nightmarenigh that she had left Roland Garros but had forgotten to b buy tournament towels for her f friends.
“I wa was sweating over this. I guess if I wasn’t playing the big match matches in a Grand Slam I would wouldn’t have these nightmare mares. But it’s good to be nerv nervous – it shows that I am not a robot.”