Birthday clash looms for French Open giant killers

Rain and wind scudded through Paris on day 10 of the 2017 French Open, punching a three-hour hole in the schedule, but it was worth the wait for the combustible but talented teenager Jelena Ostapenko, and the Swiss outsider, Timea Bacsinszky, who will meet in the semi-finals on Thursday. As it happens they share a birthday that day, which is taking Hollywood scriptwriting to absurdity.

Ostapenko, who turns 20 on the biggest day of her career, said after beating Caroline Wozniacki in three sets: "It was tough because we had to go away two times from the court and Caroline is such a tough opponent. It's great to play here on my birthday. I am really going to enjoy it."

Bacsinszky, who is 28 on match day, finally got the better of the French favourite Kristina Mladenovic, 17 places ahead of her in the rankings at 14, having led 6-4, 1-1 before they departed Court Philippe Chatrier around 3.30pm. On resumption she held her nerve to close out the second set for the loss of a further three games over a full course of an hour and 49 minutes.

She said: “We had all the seasons in one day today – there was a storm, sunshine and I think even snow. It was very tough and to keep concentration was very difficult. I am exhausted.”

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On Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Wozniacki should have had – on ranking, experience, pedigree and sentiment – the beating of the not-quite-so-popular Ostapenko (who had an infamous bust-up with Britain’s Naomi Broady in New Zealand last year), but the precocious Latvian showed enormous cool to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

The former British No 1 Annabel Croft said of Ostapenko: “She reminds me of a young Monica Seles. She hits the line time and time again.”

At several points on Tuesday it looked as if there would not be a single completed match as wave after wave of windswept rain thrashed through Roland Garros.

Outright favourite

Unfortunately for the men, there was no space left in the day for the quarter-finals between Rafael Nadal, still the outright favourite, and his Spanish compatriot Pablo Carreño Busta, or the match between Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem, whom the second seed beat out of sight in the semi-finals in Rome two weekends ago.

The forecast for Wednesday is fine, so they should have no problem completing their obligations and still have a day’s rest before the semi-finals on Friday. In the other men’s quarters on Wednesday Andy Murray plays Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka, the No 3 seed, takes on Marin Cilic.

In a tournament that has had controversy lurking like a cloud, the outspoken Australian Pat Cash entered the fray with a few harsh words for Murray’s coach, Ivan Lendl. “He is by far the most annoying person in the locker room that I have ever met in my life,” Cash said on Eurosport.

The former Wimbledon champion added: “And I’m not joking. First of all he’s got really bad jokes, they’re just horrendous, and he’s really loud. Certainly during my career he was always the loudest, he was like the king of the jungle.

“There was always a bit of chest-thumping going on amongst various players, and certain players liked that. Ivan was just one of those guys. He was always making fun of somebody or picking on you and that was his way of putting you down – you probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that I gave a lot back as well.

“But he is the complete opposite [to what you see on TV]. I’ve been down in the locker room today a fair bit and Ivan was doing the same thing, telling jokes. It’s kind of cool because it keeps it very light and he’s not quite as loud as he used to be.

“It keeps it light and the players can relax and of course Andy’s got a full team there. Mark Bender [his physio] is there and he’s very easygoing. You need people like that. But, when it comes down to business, they get on with it. They don’t mess around. They’re a very professional team.”

Guardian Service