French dream for Timea
Sometimes, nerves get the better of Timea Bacsinszky. The good thing is it happens off the tennis court. Facing wind, rain and cold and a crowd cheering her French opponent, the 30th-seeded Swiss player on Tuesday reached the French Open semifinals. Bacsinszky defeated 13th-seeded Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4 in a match twice interrupted by rain. It was all the more impressive considering she hardly slept the night before. "I went to bed more or less at 11 p.m.," Bacsinszky said. "I woke up at 4 a.m. I could not sleep for an hour. Went back to sleep. Woke up earlier than my alarm. My heart was beating. like, it was a rush." Bacsinszky was having a nightmare. "I remember that I had, like, three towels that I wanted to give to my siblings because I have three," she said. "But I forgot them in the closet. So it was a big drama, so I could not get into the plane without giving the towels of the French Open, and I woke up and I was sweating. It was terrible for me."
Bopanna in mixed doubles final
India's Rohan Bopanna earned himself an opportunity to become only the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam trophy by reaching the French Open mixed doubles final with partner Gabriela Dabrowski, here on Wednesday. Bopanna and his Canadian partner, seeded seventh, shocked third seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals. This is only the second time in his career that Bopanna had reached the summit clash of a Grand Slam. In 2010, he had made the final of US Open men's doubles with Pakistani parter Aisam-ul-haq-Qureshi and lost to legendary Bryan brothers — Bob and Mike.