Tennis-Open-Cirstea hopes school notices she is not bunking off

By Sonia Oxley

PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) - Reaching the French Open quarter-finals has given Romanian teenager Sorana Cirstea the perfect alibi if her high school thinks she is playing truant.

"Now they can see me on TV. They know I'm not somewhere else," she said after beating Serbian fifth seed Jelena Jankovic 3-6 6-0 9-7 on Monday.

Cirstea, whose final exams are before the U.S. Open which starts in August, has taken a break from revising while she has been in Paris.

"Honestly I haven't been studying this week. I think I was just trying to focus on Roland Garros," said the 19-year-old, who was watched in the stands by Romanian former French Open champion Ilie Nastase.

"I can study after I finish the tournament again."

Cirstea, the youngest player left in the draw, plays Australian 30th seed Samantha Stosur for a semi-final place. (Editing by Pritha Sarkar; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)