Jelena Ostapenko says she is ‘more hungry to win another Grand Slam‘ after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals.
The Latvian produced an exceptional performance to put out the highly tipped American in straight sets.
18-year-old Gauff broke early in the opening set with a stunning cross-court backhand, before Ostapenko responded immaculately to level at 2-2.
Gauff saw six break point opportunities go in the set and was denied by Ostapenko’s explosive brand of tennis. The Latvian broke for the set at 6-5 up with a backhand drive volley.
Ostapenko continued delivering in the second set and broke to lead 5-3, before a forehand winner sealed the match and a debut appearance at the quarter final stage in Melbourne.
The Latvian said ‘I’m really happy with the way I played today. I think I was stepping in the court and took a lot of time away from her, so didn’t really give her to play her game.‘
She also spoke about the difficulties of being a young Major champion. Ostapenko was 20 when she won Roland Garros. ‘ Of course, it’s very difficult, but I think especially Iga is dealing with it really well, and she has the right people next to her.’
She added ‘obviously, it’s really hard to play very consistent every single tournament because we’re still human and we don’t feel great every single day.’
Ostapenko faces fellow Major champion Elena Rybakina in the next stage. Neither player has made a semi-final at the Australian Open.
Gauff was emotional in her press conference, and believed she could have made a deeper run in Melbourne.
‘Today she played really well. I think I was looking at the stats, and for the most part I was doing pretty good at the stats. But, she returned really well, so it kind of I guess messed up my rhythm a little bit.’ She added ‘I worked really hard, and I felt really good coming into the tournament.’
