Tsonga, Wawrinka earn spots in semis
Accident injures spectators; Nishikori, Federer ousted
PARIS — Swirling winds caused chaos at Roland Garros on Tuesday, but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka emerged unscathed to set up a French Open semifinal.
On a day when Wawrinka would have hoped to bask in the glory of beating his celebrated fellow Swiss Roger Federer for the first time on a grand slam stage, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (4), it was a freak accident that set the claycourt major abuzz.
Tsonga had whipped the delirious Court Philippe Chatrier crowd into a frenzy as he charged into a 6-1, 5-2 lead against Japan’s Kei Nishikori when piercing screams were suddenly heard from high up in the stands.
A large rectangular metal panel had fallen from underneath the TV commentary boxes, hitting spectators on the top row.
The incident even caught umpire Carlos Bernardes unaware, as he tried to resume the contest by calling for “quiet, please” before he realized that everyone was distracted by the accident, which left a silver-haired spectator and two others injured.
As the stricken fans were led away, Tsonga and Nishikori were ushered off the court for what turned out to be a 40-minute disruption, during which 12 rows of spectators were evacuated and the area cordoned off.
The unexpected break initial- ly did nothing to stall Tsonga’s momentum, and he returned to finish off Nishikori in the second set.
But after the Japanese hero roared back in the next two sets, Tsonga sunk to his knees in triumph as he once again raised hopes of ending France’s 32-year wait for a men’s Roland Garros champion with a heart-pumping 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
The celebrations for Tsonga did not end there, as he etched “ROLAND, JE T’AIME” into the red clay with his right shoe before collapsing onto his back to form the T in the message.
“You supported me. I will never forget it,” he told the roaring crowd.
Gusting winds also proved problematic in the two women’s quarterfinals, but 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Czech No. 13 seed Lucie Safarova weathered the conditions that periodically turned the courts into red dust bowls to set up a semifinal date.
For men’s No. 2 seed Federer, however, hopes of a second French Open crown were gone with the wind, as he was outplayed, outthought and outwitted by a rival he had beaten in every one of their previous four major meetings.
Federer’s wife Mirka hid her worried eyes behind dark shades and bit her nails as the match neared its inevitable conclusion, with a forehand volley from Wawrinka killing off the 2009 champion’s chances of adding to his 17 major titles.
“Many things ... didn’t go well, but mostly it’s because of Stan’s quality of shot-making, forehand, backhand, serving big when he had to,” said the 33-year-old Federer. “(The conditions) were tough. So it’s impressive the way Stan was able to play.”
A day after knocking out 2014 champion Maria Sharapova, Safarova’s excitement kept soaring as she stormed into her first French semifinal with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over Spain’s Garbine Muguruza.
“It’s not easy because you have so many emotions going on. ... I couldn’t really fall asleep yesterday, and then I woke up so early,” said Safarova, who is bidding to become the first Czech to triumph in Paris since Hana Mandlikova in 1981.
“So I was a little tired in the morning. But the will to win and to be in the semifinals was so big that once I stepped on the court, I was just fighting and playing really well.”
Ivanovic’s boyfriend, Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, looked far more animated than his girlfriend when she completed a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
Whooping and exchanging high-fives with the rest of Ivanovic’s entourage in the player’s box, Schweinsteiger stood up to give the seventh seed a standing ovation as she reached a grand slam semifinal for the first time since her 2008 Paris triumph.