French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko has ended her season on a high note by defeating a below-par Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-1, at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
Going into the match, it was world No.4 Pliskova that had all the momentum. The Czech has already qualified for the semifinals of the tournament after posting convincing wins over Garbine Muguruza and Venus Williams earlier this week. Against both players she only dropped four games. Furthermore, she lead Ostapenko 2-0 in their head-to-head going into Singapore, triumphing at the 2016 Cincinnati Open and the 2017 Australian Open.
“She’s a great player. She has had a great season.” Ostapenko said of Pliskova.
“Today I really had nothing to lose because it was my last match here (in Singapore). I just tried to enjoy every moment.“
Despite the statistics pointing to a Pliskova victory, it was a more resurgent Ostapenko who prevailed. The opening set saw both players encounter blips during the early stages. The French Open champion went down a break for 1-2 before breaking Pliskova immediately in the following game. As the set went on, Pliskova appeared flat and tentative on the court. Hitting three double faults, 12 unforced errors and only six winners. On the other hand, Ostapenko was able to find a better balance between in her winner-error ratio (15-9) and seized upon her opportunities. Hitting a clean forehand winner to seal the 6-3 lead.
The implosion of Pliskova’s lacklustre game continued to rake in the benefits for Ostapenko and her bid to win her first match in the WTA Finals. Another poor service game from the world No.1 concluded with a double fault to extend the Latvian’s lead to 6-3, 2-0. In pole position Ostapenko utilized her heavy-hitting to cruise to the finish line. A winning cross-court forehand secured the double break to move her to a game away from victory. The one-sided win was completed in an appropriate fashion with a love service game.
Ostapenko will play no further in Singapore after losing her two opening matches earlier in the week. The win gives her an additional $153,000 in prize money and her fourth victory over a top-10 player this season.
“I was very happy to play here, it was my first time.” Reflected Ostapenko. “Probably the first couple of matches I was a bit tight, but also the second match was a very long match. I really enjoyed every match I played here and hopefully I can come back next year.”
The 20-year-old ends her season with two WTA titles from Roland Garros and Seoul. Overall she has won 45 out of 64 tour matches played in 2017.
One. Way. Traffic.
Ostapenko: 25 winners.
Pliskova 8 winners. https://t.co/7Tmz7OzpOe#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/vpFyiKkgQR— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 26, 2017
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