Birthday babes brace for battle
Print Edition
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 also 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 No. 31 Bacsinszky turns 28 while Ostapenko, ranked 47, 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 (China) last year and we’ve practiced 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 last 8, will be the favorite today.
Ostapenko has never made the semis of a major.
Before Roland Garros she had never got past the third round.
The Latvian is hoping to become the first player since Gustavo Kuerten at the 1997 French Open to win their first tour-level title at a Grand Slam.
“It will be great to celebrate playing tennis here,” said Ostapenko, the first teenager since Serb Ana Ivanovic in 2008 to reach the last four in Paris.
Brazilian Kuerten’s breakthrough at Roland Garros coincidentally came on the same day that Ostapenko was born.
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