Latvian Jelena Ostapenko's dream run at the French Open continued as she stunned former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to reach the semifinals on Tuesday. The world No. 47 recovered from losing the first five games of a rain-ravaged match to outclass 11th seed Wozniacki 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Court Suzanne Lenglen. The 19-year-old, playing in the main draw in Paris for only the second time, is the first teenager to get to the semifinals at Roland Garros since Ana Ivanovic in 2007. She will face Swiss Timea Bacsinszky in the semifinals on Thursday when she will celebrate her 20th birthday. French favorite Kristina Mladenovic skidded out of a storm-struck French Open, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Bacsinszky in another rain-interrupted quarterfinal. [caption id="attachment_150387" align="alignright" width="300"] Fans with umbrellas stay on court as rain delays play in French Open at the Roland Garros, Paris. — Reuters[/caption] Thirteenth seed Mladenovic had been hoping to become the first French champion since Mary Pierce in 2000, but never really clicked on Court Philippe-Chatrier. An opening set where both players struggled to hold serve was sealed when Bacsinszky hit her third ace, and the Swiss held her nerve in the second set to close it out. The French Open men's quarterfinals involving Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have been postponed because of rain. Because of showers and heavy wind much of the afternoon, the two men's singles matches on Tuesday's schedule have been moved to Wednesday: No. 4 Nadal vs. No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta, and No. 2 Djokovic vs. No. 6 Dominic Thiem. Nadal is a nine-time champion at Roland Garros. Djokovic is the defending champion. If they both win their quarterfinals, they would meet in a semifinal showdown. Djokovic has been struggling for consistency and the 23-year-old Thiem is expected to provide a tough challenge even if the Austrian has won only one set in their five previous encounters. For good reason Thiem knows he will have to find a new weapon when he takes on defending champion Djokovic for a place in the French Open semifinals. The sixth seed's single-handed backhand ranks as one of the best shots in men's tennis but so far it has been feeble against Djokovic who he has scraped one set against in five matches and who thrashed him 6-1, 6-0 in the Rome semifinals. He was also beaten in straight sets by Djokovic in last year's semifinals at Roland Garros — his best run at a slam. "I have to change something compared to the last matches," Thiem, the youngest of the quarterfinalists, said. "I will talk to my coach, to my team. Then maybe change something up and hope I play a good match." Djokovic's progress has been troublesome in comparison, being stretched to five sets by Diego Schwartzman in round three — but the battle-hardened Serb is well-versed in the business end of slams and usually raises his game. Former champion Mats Wilander thinks 23-year-old Thiem's easy run could actually work against him. "Of course, it's good to have conserved your energy, but for Thiem I think I'd have liked to see him answer a few more questions," the Swede, in Paris as a presenter for Eurosport's daily flagship show "Game, Set and Mats", told Reuters. "For someone like Thiem it's vital to have energy left. But at the same time when you are standing up against Novak Djokovic it's just a different animal in terms of pressure." Meanwhile, it's gala time at the French Open with the world champions' dinner taking place in Paris later Tuesday. Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber, who sealed the year-end No. 1 rankings last year, will receive their awards from the International Tennis Federation at the Pavillon Cambon Capucines in downtown Paris. Former Spanish players Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez will also be honored with the Philippe Chatrier Award "for their services to the game as players and coaches." They first teamed up in 1984 and won 44 tournaments together, including two Grand Slam titles. They later opened the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona. — Agencies
