So, after all that, we know the lineup of the first women’s semi-final: Timea Bacsinszky, the No30 seed, against the unseeded Jelena Ostapenko.
Bacsinszky, who retired from tennis for almost two years between 2011 and 2013, will be 28 on the day of the semi-final. Ostapenko will be 20. It’s a double birthday celebration! And the present on offer is a place in the French Open final.
Before that, though, we have a bumper day tomorrow. Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, Thiem, Halep, Pliskova, two women’s quarter-finals and all four men’s last-eight ties. Make sure you join Jacob Steinberg for all the action on Wednesday and stick around on site for Kevin Mitchell’s report on Tuesday’s results.
From me though, it’s cheerio!
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Ostapenko was 5-0 down in the first set. She won 16 of the next 21 games.
Ostapenko beats Wozniacki 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
Third set: Ostapenko* 4-6, 6-2 6-2 Wozniacki (*denotes server) Ostapenko has the bit between her teeth and races into a 30-0 lead. Another hammering winner takes her to 40-0. Three match points … and she needs only one! What a performance from the 19-year-old.
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Third set: Ostapenko 4-6, 6-2 5-2 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) A ferocious Ostapenko backhand brings us to 30-30 and she follows it up with a cracking cross-court forehand to earn break point at 30-40. Another crunching return has Wozniacki in trouble, and her return drifts wide. Game Ostapenko, who has the double break and will serve for a place in the semi-finals.
Third set: Ostapenko* 4-6, 6-2 4-2 Wozniacki (*denotes server) Meanwhile, Ostapenko is all over Wozniacki. She holds to 15.
Bacsinszky beats Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4!
With Bacsinszky serving for the match, Mladenovic has a break point at 30-40 … but she nets her forehand under pressure. Bacsinszky dominates the next point to bring up her first match point … and she takes it as the Frenchwoman volleys wide.
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Third set: Ostapenko 4-6, 6-2 3-2 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) Ostapenko has hit double the winners of Wozniacki but also five times the errors. She throws one of each into the early stages of this game and we’re at 30-30. A bruising rally follow but another unforced error gives Wozniacki the edge, then there’s a winner from the Latvian – deuce. Make that six times the winners of Wozniacki – 30-5 – and the No11 seed goes long to give her opponent a break point. She nets. Ostapenko goes a break up in the third.
Mladenovic holds but Bacsinszky will serve for the match at 5-4 in the second set.
Third set: Ostapenko* 4-6, 6-2 2-2 Wozniacki (*denotes server) Sounds like a few of the fans left on Suzanne-Lenglen have spent the rain breaks enjoying the old vin rouge. The atmosphere is rather more raucous now. Ostapenko comes out swinging once more and gets the better of a long rally at 15-0 only to come within a centimetre of netting a simple winner. The ball hits the cord and loops over, though, and soon enough it’s 40-0. But she can’t put Wozniacki away and three straight errors bring us back to deuce. But the youngster rallies again to hold.
Bacsinszky, meanwhile, has held from 0-30 down and Mladenovic is now serving to stay in the tournament.
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Wozniacki and Ostapenko are back on court. They’ll have a two-minute warm-up and then resume play with Wozniacki 2-1 up and Ostapenko about to serve.
Good news: covers off, sun out, players imminent!
So in that 20 minute spell of play, Mladenovic managed to save a break point in the first point of the resumption, break Bacsinszky to lead 3-1, then lose her serve twice to trail 4-3. Those two really packed it in. Ostapenko had time to seal the second set, but it’s on serve in the third.
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Play suspended. Again.
The covers are back on as more rain is in the offing. It’s not actually falling yet but it is about to be. They got this call right earlier on but it’s clearly frustrating for all involved.
Third set: Ostapenko 4-6, 6-2 1-2 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) Break point for Ostapenko on the Wozniacki serve but she nets a backhand down the line and we’re back to deuce before the No11 seed goes on to hold.
In the other quarter, the home fans are subdued after Mladenovic’s 3-1 lead, with a break, in the second set becomes a 4-3 deficit, with a break, in short order.
A bit of order-of-play news: play on Philippe-Chatrier will start at 11am in Paris (10am BST): Carreno-Busta v Nadal followed by (not before 2pm/1pm) Garcia v Pliskova then, in news that will please zero sports editors concerned about deadlines, Murray v Nishikori. On Suzanne-Lenglen it’s Thiem v Djokovic, followed by (not before 2pm/1pm) Svitolina v Halep and then Wawrinka v Cilic.
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Third set: Ostapenko* 4-6, 6-2 1-1 Wozniacki (*denotes server) With the players having played for much of their matches in wind under stormy skies, it’s now fairly still with bright low sun sending shadows across the court. Wozniacki has upped her game a little here and biffs her way to a 15-30 lead before slipping wide with a forehand, netting a return and crunching a second-serve return long. Game Ostapenko.
Third set: Ostapenko 4-6, 6-2 0-1 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) Having lost the first five games, Ostapenko has now won 10 of the next 13. The youngster struggled in the extremely blustery conditions earlier in the day but since the wind dropped she’s been much the better player. Wozniacki, though, holds to 15 on this occasion. Meanwhile, Mladenovic has broken Bacsinszky to go 3-1 up in the second set.
Ostapenko wins the second set 6-2
Second set: Ostapenko* 4-6, 6-2 Wozniacki (*denotes server) Meanwhile, Jelena Ostapenko is serving for the second set on Suzanne-Lenglen. And the 19-year-old takes it with a brilliant recovery forehand that forces Wozniacki to net.
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Mladenovic comes out swinging on the resumption and gets the better of a forehand rally to save the break point. And she goes on to hold with a lovely drop shot – 2-1 in the second.
There’ll be a difficult moment for Mladenovic on the resumption. She’s a set down against Bacsinszky and at 1-1 the first point will be at 30-40 on her serve.
And here come the players! Just over three hours after rain forced the suspension of play, we have four women’s quarter-finalists back on court.
And they’re off!
Covers are off! #RG17 pic.twitter.com/yXu3C3T89y
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2017
Some good news at last: the covers are set to come off the courts in a few minutes.
BAH! The rain is back! Half-past again looks rather optimistic.
Men's quarters postponed until Wednesday
Though the weather is improving at Roland Garros, the sunshine has not come quickly enough to save the men’s quarter-finals scheduled for today. So Rafael Nadal v Pablo Carreno Busta and Dominic Thiem v Novak Djokovic will take place on Wednesday, along with the other two men’s quarters.
Our man on the scene, Kevin Mitchell, confirms rain is still lurking around the area so the two women’s quarters are still not certain to finish today.
The latest official word is no play before 5.30pm BST/4.30pm in Paris. This time, though, it feels like we might actually get play at that point.
Sunshine! We have sunshine! But the rain clouds remain in the vicinity. No word on when play may resume but if we don’t get any more rain* we could be back under way in the next 30 minutes.
*Cue more rain.
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For the scrolling-averse, a quick summary of the day’s events so far:
Caroline Wozniacki mastered strong winds to take the first set against Jelena Ostapenko. But her young opponent leads 5-2 in the second set, having won nine of the last 12 games.
Timea Bacsinszky and France’s Kristina Mladenovic exchanged breaks of serve throughout the first set but Bacsinszky got the better of it 6-4. It’s 1-1 in the second set and the Swiss player has a break point on the Mladenovic serve.
Then it rained.
And rained.
And it’s still raining.
No play before 5pm BST. It’s looking increasingly likely that the men’s quarter-finals scheduled for today will be moved to Wednesday.
Weather update: No play scheduled before 6:00pm CEST.#RG17 pic.twitter.com/NJuE3a3ME4
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2017
The roof over Philippe-Chatrier was initially scheduled to be ready for this year’s tournament but that has now been put back to 2020. Further delays would surprise no one. At least the offers of help are flooding in:
Hey @rolandgarros. Don't suppose you need any help? I am available for a very reasonable hourly rate... #roofforhire
— Wimbledon Roof (@WimbledonRoof) June 6, 2017
Well, the news just gets worse:
With no play before 5.30pm local time, good chance men's QF matches will be held over until Weds, which, given the wind, would suit Djokovic
— Simon Cambers (@scambers73) June 6, 2017
It’s very, very wet in Paris – the rain has eased although there are still some umbrellas up in the stands and the covers have standing water sat atop them. So that potential 3.45pm start time looks a little optimistic to me.
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📢 ☔ Rain delay
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2017
Matches won't recommence until 4.45pm CEST. #RG17 pic.twitter.com/msotBgRlKL
Ah, and now the players won’t be back out until 3.45pm BST, or 4.45pm in Paris. That’s a blow.
The start time has been pushed back to quarter past the hour.
There’ll be no play before 4pm in Paris, which is 3pm BST.
And it was a smart move – it’s now hosing it down at Roland Garros. Stick the kettle on, we could be off for a while.
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Play suspended
Play has been suspended because heavy rain is expected imminently. A pre-emptive strike but fair enough I suppose.
Second set: Ostapenko 4-6, 5-2 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) Ostapenko races into a 15-40 lead but loses her radar to allow Wozniacki back into the game. Deuce. But once she finds her accuracy again, her power is too much for the Dane – a double break.
Second set: Ostapenko* 4-6, 4-2 Wozniacki (*denotes server) Teenagers huh? Ostapenko and the umpire have a brief falling-out over a line call, with the 19-year-old clearly very unhappy. There’s definite chuntering after the conversation is over. Despite that moment of tension, she holds and resists the urge to storm to her room to play some Smiths at top volume at the end of the game.
Second set: Ostapenko 4-6, 3-2 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) Ostapenko breaks again! From the ridiculous back to the sublime.
Bacsinszky wins the first set 6-4
Over on Philippe-Chatrier, the Swiss player has taken a very competitive first set against the home favourite.
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Second set: Ostapenko* 4-6, 2-2 Wozniacki (*denotes server) Bacsinszky gets the better of an epic ninth game – over 11 minutes – in the other quarter to go a break up for the third time. She’ll serve for the first set. Meanwhile, in the much calmer conditions Ostapenko’s power is proving too much for Wozniacki – you can see exactly why the Latvian has won their two previous meetings on this surface. And, just as I type that, she clonks a couple of poor shots well wide to turn a 30-0 lead into a 30-40 break point for Wozniacki. A forehand long means Wozniacki breaks back.
Second set: Ostapenko 4-6, 2-1 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) With Wozniacki leading 40-15 we get perhaps the point of the match, with both players brilliantly rescuing themselves from seemingly impossible situations before Ostapenko gets the better of it. She had trailed 40-0 but brings it back to deuce and another cracking backhand down the line gives her a break point. Another superb rally ends with an unreturnable Ostapenko volley and the youngster has a break in the second set.
Second set: Ostapenko* 4-6, 1-1 Wozniacki (*denotes server) An epic – and important – rally at 30-30 goes Ostapenko’s way after coming in for a thumping forehand volley and another point won at the net gives her the hold.
Second set: Ostapenko 4-6, 0-1 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) The Jekyll-and-Hyde Ostapenko wins a point with a beautiful little drop shot then loses the next with a wild forehand. Even though she raced into a 5-0 lead and ended up taking the first set, it sometimes has felt that Wozniacki is a spectator in this match, reliant entirely on the whims of her opponent. On this occasion, she holds to 30.
Wozniacki wins first set 6-4
First set: Ostapenko* 4-6 Wozniacki (*denotes server) The other quarter-final is also proving a topsy-turvy affair – Mladenovic has broken back to make it 4-4. So that’s four games that have gone with the serve, four breaks. Ostapenko, though, has had a bit of a mare here and allowed Wozniacki a 0-40 lead in the blink of an eye. A netted forehand means Wozniacki takes the first set.
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First set: Ostapenko 4-5 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) Ostapenko has really found her groove here. She batters her way to a 15-30 lead and from 30-30 Wozniacki nets a forehand to hand her opponent a break point. A thunking serve quickly does for that but Ostapenko keeps coming and, as the sun makes an appearance, dominates another rally to another break point … again saved though as a backhand goes wild and wide. Ostapenko earns a third break point with a backhand that kisses the line … and this time she takes it. Remarkably, we’re back on serve!
First set: Ostapenko* 3-5 Wozniacki (*denotes server) Bacsinszky has broken again in the other quarter-final to lead 3-2. Meanwhile, the wind seems to have dropped a touch, which is good news. Wozniacki gets her first two set points but Ostapenko has her opponent running sideline to sideline and saves them both. And calmly goes on to hold. Three on the bounce for Ostapenko.
First set: Ostapenko 2-5 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) An assured forehand volley from Ostapenko gives her a 15-30 lead, and a miscued drop shot hands the youngster two break points. A clubbing baseline rally ends with Ostapenko sending a forehand wide, then she sends a backhand wide fro the next. Chance gone. Or has it? Another thumping volley gives her advantage … and this time she takes the opportunity.
First set: Ostapenko* 1-5 Wozniacki (*denotes server) They’re also struggling with the conditions on Philippe-Lenglen, with the top layer of the surface being blown into the players eyes. Mladenovic, though, has broken back and it’s 2-2. Ostapenko, meanwhile, finally gets on the board with a hold to 15.
First set: Ostapenko 0-5 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) Ostapenko raises her arms in frustration at herself and the elements. She has racked up 13 unforced errors already, though she has battled back to deuce here from 40-15 down. And, having found her mojo, now has a break point at advantage … and she’s a whisker away from the baseline with a backhand. Her aggression is admirable, though perhaps a little foolhardy given the conditions, which are worsening – the clouds have come over and rain seems to be imminent. Still, Wozniacki is the one who keeps her cool and, thanks to another unforced error, holds again.
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First set: Ostapenko* 0-4 Wozniacki (*denotes server) At 30-15 Ostapenko goes long with the most routine of forehands, then goes long once more with another straightforward shot. A netted forehand later, Wozniacki has the double break.
Think this wind is Ostapenko's worst nightmare - big hitter, little margin for error. It's playing straight into Wozniacki's hands
— Simon Cambers (@scambers73) June 6, 2017
First set: Ostapenko 0-3 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) In the other match Bacsinszky has broken in the first game of the match to take the upper hand. Meanwhile, two Wozniacki double-faults – the wind is causing some issues with the toss of both players – gives Ostapenko the upper hand. The teenager then gets the better of the best rally of the match to give herself two break points but Wozniacki saves them both with fine serves. Ostapenko gets another look at a break point at advantage but Wozniacki saves again then holds thanks to Ostapenko’s ninth unforced error of the match.
First set: Ostapenko* 0-2 Wozniacki (*denotes server) Ostapenko is struggling horribly with the wind here. A double-fault gives Wozniacki a 0-30 lead and a netted forehand gives her two break points. Ostapenko is aiming for the lines but getting nowhere near – a wild forehand drifts a good two feet out and Wozniacki has an early break.
First set: Ostapenko 0-1 Wozniacki* (*denotes server) Off we go then on a sparsely populated Suzanne-Lenglen, with the wind loudly audible amid the silence. Ostapenko gives us an immediate display of her power with a couple of baseline winners to go 15-30 up on the Wozniacki serve. An error brings us back to 30-all then we have a brief pause as Ostapenko has some of the clay whipped into her eyes by the wind. Two errors later Wozniacki holds.
Mladenovic and Bacsinszky have strolled out onto Philippe-Chatrier, the latter in a pair of enormous headphones. Wozniacki and Ostapenko also emerge onto Suzanne-Lenglen to get warmed up.
Some good news on the weather front: the sun is shining on Philippe-Chatrier. For now. But it’s blowing a gale.
And a bit more: Bacsinszky has a 3-1 record over Mladenovic over their four meetings, and won both their clashes on clay (though one of those was back in 2009). And the Swiss was the victor in their most recent meeting, a close-fought Fed Cup contest that went to three sets. Mladenovic is the woman in form, though, having reached two clay-court finals this year.
Basically, if you can confidently pick the winner in either of these matches good luck to you.
A bit of pre-match background: Wozniacki is a former world No1, the No11 seed at Roland Garros, a winner of 25 WTA singles titles and has picked up more than $23m in prize money during her career.
Ostapenko is 19, ranked 47 in the world, unseeded and has never won a singles title.
BUT. These two have met three times before … and the young Latvian has a 100% record against her more experienced opponent. Two of those wins have come in the last couple of months, with Ostapenko winning 5-7, 6-3 7-6 in Prague at the start of May, and in straight sets in Charleston at the beginning of April. Both of those victories came on clay.
Weather watch: play has been suspended on the outer courts.
Hello all and welcome to day 10 of our French Open coverage where we reach the quarter-final stage.
First up are the first of the women’s last-eight ties. Kristina Mladenovic, carrying home hopes after beating Garbiñe Muguruza in the last round, takes on Timea Bacsinszky, conqueror of Venus Williams, on Philippe-Chatrier, while the unseeded Jelena Ostapenko, still two days shy of her 20th birthday, meets the No11 seed Caroline Wozniacki on Suzanne-Lenglen.
Then it’s the turn of the men – Rafael Nadal, who has thus far lost just 20 games IN TOTAL across his four matches at Roland Garros, faces his countryman Pablo Carreno Busta, who has already turfed out Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov, while wunderkind Dominic Thiem takes on reigning champion and world No2 Novak Djokovic.
And to keep things nice and simple the winner of Mladenovic/Bacsinszky will meet the winner of Ostapenko/Wozniacki in the semi-finals, likewise the winners of today’s men’s quarters.
The bad news, though, is the weather – showers are forecast for much of the afternoon.
Rain-permitting all the action starts at 1pm BST so in the meantime, have a gander at how Monday’s action unfolded:
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