Czech trio aiming for glory after reaching Roland Garros semi-finals
“A powerful force.”
That was 17-year-old Lucie Havlickova’s description of Czech Republic’s female tennis players. And with three Czech players through to the semi-finals of the girls’ singles of Roland Garros – all of whom are looking to emulate their compatriot Linda Noskova, who won the girls’ singles in Paris last year – it would be hard to disagree with that assessment.
Havlickova, the No. 9 seed, produced a gutsy performance on Thursday to defeat Canada’s Annabelle Xu 7-6(5) 4-6 6-1. She will face 10th seed Sara Bejlek (who is also her doubles partner) in Friday’s semi-final, after Bejlek recovered from a rough start to defeat Mirra Andreeva 6-4 6-1.
In the other semi-final, Nikola Bartunkova will play Solana Sierra, of Argentina, after a 6-3 6-0 win against Slovakia’s Nikola Daubnerova on Thursday. Sierra, who has impressed throughout the week here, defeated Liv Hovde 6-3 7-5 to secure her place in the last four.
“Czech girls, I guess, are really good. We're doing something right,” Havlickova continued. “I hope we continue to play well in juniors and go on to the WTA. We hope to be like Petra Kvitova or one of the other Czech players.”
But while the atmosphere within the Czech camp is undoubtedly positive, make no mistake – all these players are bidding for individual glory at Roland Garros this week.
“It's my dream,” Bartunkova said when asked how winning the title would feel. “I have dreamed about winning this tournament since I was young.”
While much of the focus will be on the Czech players, it would be wrong to overlook Sierra, a player who seems at home on the Parisian clay. The 17-year-old represented her nation with distinction in the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this year, recording four victories as Argentina won promotion at the Americas Group I event in Ecuador.
“It was a really nice experience. It's always a pleasure to represent my country. I had a really tough match with top players,” Sierra said of her performances in Ecuador before turning her attention to the present.
“I'm feeling really great. I'm super happy,” she continued. “[In Argentina] we always say that Roland Garros is the best tournament, so it's really nice to be here.”
Should she spoil the Czech party over the next two days, Sierra will become the first Argentinian player to win the girls’ singles title in Paris since 1986, when Patricia Tarabini lifted the trophy. And nobody who watched her victory over Hovde on Thursday would doubt that she is capable of matching that achievement.
In the boys’ singles semi-finals, tenth seed Dino Prizmic, of Croatia, will take on home favourite Gabriel Debru, the No. 14 seed. Prizmic defeated Daniel Merida Aguilar 6-3 6-2 in the quarter-finals on Thursday, while Debru enjoyed an impressive 6-1 6-2 victory against Peter Benjamin Privara.
The other last four match-up will see Belgium’s Gilles Arnaud Bailly up against Poland’s Martyn Pawelski. Bailly ended the run of qualifier Dylan Dietrich on Thursday, winning 6-3 7-5 to advance to the semi-finals, while Pawelski overcame Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez 7-6(2) 6-4 to progress.