Ostapenko finally beats Zheng, keeps Rome fourth‑round streak alive

In three previous meetings, Jelena Ostapenko had been unable to crack the code against Zheng Qinwen.

Rome: Scores | Draws | Order of play

But the former French Open champion finally solved it Saturday in Rome, rallying from a set down to defeat Zheng 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in just under two and a half hours and advance to the Round of 16 for the fourth straight year. The win also continues her strong run on Stadio Pietrangeli, where she is now 6-2, with five of those victories coming in three sets.

"It's one of my favorite courts," Ostapenko told reporters. "So many people cheering me on, it's really nice. And it was a tough match, but I'm really proud of myself and how I fought and how I found a way to win the match."

Ostapenko is now 1-3 against Zheng at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level and 1-0 on clay. Remarkably, it marks her first clay-court win over a higher-ranked opponent since beating Aryna Sabalenka in last year's Stuttgart final.

It came on a day when Ostapenko held the upper hand for much of the going, at least on the scoreboard. She broke Zheng at love for a 2-1 lead and consolidated for 3-1 moments later. After another hold pushed her ahead 4-2, Zheng flipped the script. Last year's semifinalist broke from 30-0 down, ripping a backhand winner to get back on serve at 4-4. She broke again two games later to win four games on the bounce and take the opening set.

Unbeknownst to Zheng, that would be her final break of the match, as Ostapenko held in her last 10 service games to produce one of her sharpest serving performances of the season. She won 78% of her first-serve points overall, including 87% (13 of 15) in the decider.

"In general, my serve (has been) so much better the last few months," Ostapenko said. "I've been working on that, and I feel like today I was serving pretty well in deciding moments and that's what gave me the win."

Ostapenko earned the key break in the second set to take a 5-4 lead. Emphasis on earned. The game featured seven deuces, and she needed five break points before finally converting with a forehand Zheng couldn't quite handle. She then held at love to force a decider.

In the third set, Ostapenko broke for 2-1 and survived a nervy service game to consolidate for 3-1 after letting a 40-0 lead fade to deuce. Zheng kept pressing, firing ace after to ace to stay within reach. She finished with 14 aces and actually won a high percentage of first-serve points (79%) than Ostapenko, but her second serve did her in.

Zheng won just 29% (8 of 28) of her second-serve points, compared with 48% (16 of 33) for Ostapenko.

In the end, the Latvian sealed her victory in style, finishing with a backhand winner down the line to book her place in the next round, where she will face the winner of Saturday night's match between No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic and No. 22 seed Anna Kalinskaya.

Ostapenko is 1-2 against Bencic, with her lone win coming back at Indian Wells in 2018. She is winless in four meetings against Kalinskaya, though she did take a set off her for the first time earlier this year in Dubai.