Jelena Ostapenko continued to thrive at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, defeating Madison Keys 7-5, 6-2 in 77 minutes to set up a second-round clash with No.2 seed Jessica Pegula.
The Latvian reached her first WTA 1000 final at Doha 2016 and was a semifinalist again last year. Against Keys, she came from 3-0 down in the first set to overcome an opponent she had never previously defeated in a completed match.
Keys had claimed victories at Birmingham 2016, Charleston 2019 and Cincinnati 2022, while Ostapenko's only impact on the series was a win via retirement at Eastbourne last year. But at a tournament where she has had greater historical success, the 25-year-old rectified that.
Kvitova, Collins advance to second round
There was success for Keys' American compatriot Sofia Kenin, though. The 2020 Australian Open champion, now ranked No.210 as she makes her way back from injury and competing as a wild card, upset Abu Dhabi finalist Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Highlights: Kenin d. Samsonova
The result was Kenin's first Top 20 victory since defeating Petra Kvitova in the 2020 Roland Garros semifinals. Kenin will next face No.8 seed Veronika Kudermetova.
Delighting in Doha 👏@SofiaKenin picks up the win 6-3, 6-1 over Samsonova.#QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/jOeGPKKqgI
— wta (@WTA) February 14, 2023
Match management: A plethora of return winners characterized the start of the match, with both players going for broke on the other's serve. This paid dividends for No.23-ranked Keys, who won 11 of the first 14 points.
But some casual errors from the former US Open finalist squandered three points to hold for 4-2, and from there Ostapenko gradually shifted momentum in her favor. She broke back in that game with a pinpoint forehand down the line, and her superior ability to redirect the ball in baseline rallies was rewarded throughout the rest of the match.
In total, Ostapenko found 29 winners to Keys' 13, and kept her unforced error tally down to 21 compared to Keys' 19. At the climax of the first set, a double fault from Keys at 5-5 handed the crucial break to Ostapenko. The former Roland Garros champion tightened her grip on the contest by breaking for 2-1 in the second set with an efficient backhand winner.
In Ostapenko's words: "Today was such a tough match and she's such a great player. She was serving really well in the beginning of the match. But I was fighting, and I think I found my game in the end.
"I was trying to not give her any free points. I knew she hits the ball hard, so I was trying to stay in the rallies until I had the chance to go for it. In the second set especially, I did it well."
Head to Head
- Sorry, we couldn't find any players that match your search.
- Sorry, we couldn't find any players that match your search.
