Ostapenko weathers Rybarikova challenge in Beijing

BEIJING, China - Jelena Ostapenko was made to work in her first-round match at the China Open, but she found a way to emerge victorious against Magdalena Rybarikova in two tight sets, 6-4, 7-6(3).

"My goal for this tournament is to be more consistent, because I felt today that I wasn't consistent at the beginning," Ostapenko told press after the match. "But the main thing is I was fighting, and I was was fighting against myself probably - that's the hardest opponent.

"My opponent today was playing pretty well, she's a big server. I couldn't get used to the rhythm at first, but at the end I think I was playing better."

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Last year’s semifinalist here, Ostapenko came into the match looking to rebound from a pair of disappointing weeks on the Asian swing; she failed to defend her title in Seoul, losing in the second round, and bowed out of Wuhan to a determined Daria Gavrilova in the first round.

Her opponent Rybarikova was forced to withdraw from Wuhan due to an upper respiratory illness, but the tricky Slovakian player made sure she didn’t show any signs of illness as she kept Ostapenko under pressure for most of their one-hour, thirty minute encounter.

Ostapenko had to come back from a break down in the first set as Rybarikova powered to a 3-0 lead. The French Open champion stayed calm, keeping to her ultra-aggressive tennis until she found the cracks in Rybarikova’s defense. She turned around the score, breaking back at 4-3 and reeling off the last five games in a row to take the opening set.

Rybarikova refused to fade away, even when she went down a break early on to trail 1-3. She leveled the score at 3-3, and a tense back-and-forth unfolded as both players wrestled for the lead in the second set.

After trading breaks once more, the next four games went to the server as the pair marched into a tiebreak. It was there that Ostapenko finally started turning the screw, recovering from 0-2 to reel off six points in a row and close out the encounter after an hour and a half.

"I feel okay at this stage of the season, just have a little problem with my left wrist," Ostapenko admitted. "So I cannot really play that amazing my backhand, but I'm trying to recover and do everything possible to play because I enjoy my time here.

"The season isn't over, I still have a couple more tournaments to play, and I just want to show my best tennis."

Up next, Ostapenko will take on China’s No.1 player Wang Qiang in the next round. Wang’s Cinderella run to the Wuhan semifinals ignited the home crowds, and they will certainly turn out in full force to support her in Beijing as well.