French Open 2017 Schedule: Thursday Replay TV Coverage and Live-Stream Guide
It was all over for the third-seeded Simona Halep in her quarterfinal match against Elina Svitolina Wednesday at the French Open.
She lost the first set by a 6-3 margin and was down 5-1 in the second set, and she would be shaking hands with her opponent at the net in a matter of minutes.
But there is a remarkable competitive streak to Halep's game, and it was on display against Svitolina. Instead of meekly losing her last game, the Romanian showed she could fight like a tiger. She picked up her level of play, sent the second set into a tiebreaker and won it, and then blasted through the third set to win the match 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0.
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Halep earned a spot in the semifinals against the second-seeded Karolina Pliskova. That match will be played Thursday on the Philippe-Chatrier Court at Roland Garros in Paris.
Television: NBC, Tennis Channel
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live
The third-seeded Halep said the key to the victory over Svitolina was her determination to keep fighting when the match looked lost.
"The best thing is that I didn't give up," Halep said, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times. "So this is the most important thing for me, and I just want to take this. The match was good: She played well, then I played better. So all is good.”
The other semifinal features a pair of long shots in the 30th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky and unseeded Jelena Ostapenko. That match will also be played Thursday on the Chatrier Court.
In addition to playing for a spot in the French Open Championship match, Halep and Pliskova are also playing for the No. 1 ranking in women's tennis. If Pliskova beats Halep, she will have the top spot; Halep must beat Pliskova and win the championship to gain the No. 1 position.
"There cannot be something bigger than to play for being world No. 1," Pliskova said, per Rothenberg. "But there's so much in the game. There's a Grand Slam final here, and the other side of the draw is pretty open."
The Halep-Pliskova match has the look of a tennis classic. Halep likes to play from the baseline, and she is comfortable with longer rallies and wearing her opponents down. Pliskova is the more aggressive player who likes to attack the net and win points with decisive shots.
Ostapenko's impressive performance in the tournament has largely been the result of her ability to overpower her opponents and hit winners with her strong forehand. She defeated the 11th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki to earn her spot in the semifinals, and she was decisive with her play at the net.
Ostapenko won 15 of 16 points when she left the baseline and came forward, while Wozniacki only attempted that approach once.
The other factor was Ostapenko's aggressiveness and her ability to hit full out. She dominated, with 38 winners compared to six for her opponent.
Bacsinszky has weapons of her own to compete with the Latvian, and her best shot is her backhand. She has hit more backhand winners in the tournament than she has hit with her forehand, and if her backhand is stronger than Ostapenko's forehand, Bacsinszky has an excellent chance of making it to the championship match.
Tournament statistics are courtesy of RolandGarros.com unless otherwise noted. Men's career statistics are courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com and women's career statistics are courtesy of WTATennis.com.
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