Jelena Ostapenko Edges Out Kasatkina In Epic Wimbledon Tussle - UBITENNIS
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Jelena Ostapenko Edges Out Kasatkina In Epic Wimbledon Tussle

Jelena Ostapenko survived a turbulent 6-1 3-6 8-6 encounter with Daria Kasatkina to book her place in the third round of Wimbledon 2021.

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Jelena Ostapenko (@ETribuneSports on Twitter)

Jelena Ostapenko survived a turbulent 6-1 3-6 8-6 encounter with Daria Kasatkina to book her place in the third round of Wimbledon 2021.

 

The Latvian, who claimed her fourth WTA title in Eastbourne last Saturday, hit 48 winners and made the same number of unforced errors during a typically unpredictable display.

Despite this inconsistency, Ostapenko looked in superb form at times and she eventually did enough to come through. She will now face either Alja Tomljanovic or Alize Cornet in the last 32.

Ostapenko Races Ahead

Ostapenko made an excellent start. She served and hit a few trademark winners as she surged into a 3-0 lead.

The Latvian was helped out by Kasatkina, who made a couple of poor errors in the second game to hand her opponent the chance to break.

Ostapenko sealed her second break in the sixth game with a superb forehand winner. Then she held serve comfortably to wrap up the first set in just 22 minutes.

Kasatkina Fights Back

The second set was a chaotic affair. Kasatkina out-fought Ostapenko in a long game to earn an early break. Then the Latvian dialled up the aggression and unleashed some ferocious winners to break back immediately.

Breaks were traded again in the fifth and sixth games to make it 3-3. After holding serve to edge ahead, the Russian profited from some sloppy errors from Ostapenko to seize another break. Then she won a tight game on serve to clinch the set.

Ostapenko Edges Anarchic Decider

In the third set, serving was made to look virtually impossible. The first six games went against the server to leave the score locked at 3-3.

Both players returned well during that time. However, because Ostapenko was dictating the play, the points typically ended with either a winner or an error from the Latvian.

Due to the chaotic nature of the set, it seemed pivotal when Ostapenko finally held in game seven. And it looked like that hold might be decisive when she gained a 15-30 advantage on Kasatkina’s serve in the next game.

However, the Latvian failed to capitalise. She made three consecutive errors to let the Russian off the hook.

The drama did not stop there. Ostapenko played two awful service games to gift Kasatkina two chances to serve for the match. Then, on both occasions, she fought with everything she had to deny the Russian.

Buoyed by these escapes, the Latvian held to love in game thirteen. Then she hit two excellent winners to move within two points of victory.

Kasatkina claimed the next three points, but Ostapenko drilled a forehand into the corner to crank up the pressure at deuce. Then she hammered a drive volley winner to earn her first match point.

The Latvian sealed the win when the Russian hit a forehand into the net. And it was obvious how much it meant – she clenched her fist and let out a loud roar of ‘Come on!’

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Asian Games Champion Qinwen Zheng Reveals Shock Departure Of Coach Fissette

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China’s Qinwen Zheng says she feels ‘hurt’ by the decision of her former coach to end their collaboration in order to work with another player. 

 

The US Open quarter-finalist had been working with Belgium’s Wim Fissette in recent weeks following the departure of Pere Riba who is now the coach of Coco Gauff. Fissette has a wealth of experience in women’s tennis after working with the likes of Kim Clijsters and Naomi Osaka. However, Zheng says she is now looking for a new mentor.

“I understand his decision, but my family and I feel hurt. Right now I don’t want to talk about this person (Fissette),’ journalist Bendou Zhang quoted her as saying. 

Fissette is yet to comment on his departure. He had previously coached former world No.1 Osaka between 2019-2022 and during this period she won two of her four Grand Slam titles. The American-based Japanese player is on maternity leave from the sport and gave birth to her first child in July.

20-year-old Zheng is currently ranked 23rd in the world and won her maiden WTA title in Palermo earlier this year. She is the youngest player from her country to have reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam in the Open Era following her run at Flushing Medows. This year she has beaten top 10 players Ons Jabeur and Daria Kasatkina. 

Zheng’s latest career milestone is winning gold at the Asian Games on Friday. in the final, she defeated Zhu Lin 6-2, 6-4, in the blistering Hangzhou heat.

“The feeling was incredible,” Zheng said. “I’m really happy about that. That was not an easy match today and also yesterday (in semifinal against Alex Eala). All of them are good fighters.”

It is not clear who Zheng will be working with during the Asian swing. 

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Daria Kasatkina Criticises Decision To Not Use Roof At Sweltering Pan Pacific Open

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Daria Kasatkina has taken a swipe at organizers at the Toray Pan Pacific Open for not using the roof to cover their premier court on Thursday due to the heat. 

 

The Russian played her second round match against Despina Papamichail in temperatures around 30 degrees with the humidity making it feel even warmer. Kasatkina battled to a 6-4, 6-4, win after spending more than two hours on the court. She dropped serve four times in the match but managed to break Papamichail seven times en route to victory. 

Speaking on the court following his latest tour win, the world No.13 admitted that she struggled in the conditions and implied that she believed the roof should have been closed to shield the players from the sun. Tokyo, which is where the tournament is staged, has experienced a record-breaking number of ‘extremely hot’ days this year with their autumn season being warmer than usual. Something that some warn could be a more regular occurrence due to climate change.

“We cannot do much about it. We are using the ice towels and some supplements to keep you hydrated. By at the end, you cannot fight with something you cannot control,” Kasatkina commented on the conditions during her on-court interview.
“I think in these kinds of conditions, if you have a roof, better maybe to close it. If you have these opportunities, better to use it than to make players almost die on the field.” She added. 

Kasatkina is through to her seventh Tour quarter-final of the season. Awaiting her in the next round will be second seed Jessica Pegula who beat Spain’s Cristina Bucșa 6-1, 6-2, in her second round match on Wednesday. It will be only the second Tour meeting between the two players and their first on a hard court. 

Elsewhere in Tokyo, another player to reach the last eight in France’s Caroline Garcia who beat Anhelina Kahlinina 6-4, 6-3. Meanwhile, Anastasia Pavlychenkova defeated Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. 

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Barbora Krejcikova Does The Double In San Jose

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After what has been a challenging past few weeks on the Tour, Barbora Krejcikova has returned to the winner’s circle by claiming both the singles and doubles titles at the San Diego Open. 

 

The world No.13 battled to a marathon 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, win over Sofia Kenin in what was a clash of the former Grand Slam champions. Krejcikova was pushed to her limits throughout the two-and-a-half-hour clash with there being no break in the decider until the final game. It is the second singles title the Czech has won on the WTA Tour this season after Dubai and her seventh overall. 

“Normally I wouldn’t be here,” said Krejcikova, who received a wild card to play in the tournament “I really want to thank them (the tournament organisers). It was very special. I really enjoyed my stay here.”

Krejcikova’s run to the trophy has also seen her score wins over Beatriz Haddad Maia and Danielle Collins earlier in the week. She is the first player from her country to win the tournament. 

Following on from that triumph, the 27-year-old then clinched the doubles title alongside compatriot Katerina Siniakova. The duo beat Collins and Coco Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-4.

Krejcikova came into San Jose on a four-match losing streak which started at Wimbledon where she was forced to withdraw from her secound round clash due to a left leg injury. 

“I came here with not really good statistics after my injury, I didn’t actually win any matches,” she said. “So I just came here and I pretty much was hoping and believing that I could get the first win and go from there. It’s pretty special to be sitting here having won [the title].”

It is only the second time in Krejcikova’s career that she has won both the singles and doubles titles at the same event. The first time she did so was at the 2021 French Open where her partner in the doubles was also Siniakova.

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