LONDON, Great Britain - No.12 seed Jelena Ostapenko made it through a dramatic second set tie-break to defeat British wildcard Katy Dunne, 6-3, 7-6(5) on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
A junior champion at the All England Club in 2014, Ostapenko saved a pair of set points and saved some of her best tennis for an ensuing sudden death to emerge victorious after an hour and 33 minutes on court.
A #Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2017, @JelenaOstapenk8 books a second round spot with a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory against Katy Dunne pic.twitter.com/psBoFePz95
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2018
Poised for a decisive victory at a set and 5-3, the 2017 quarterfinalist endured a brief wobble against Dunne, who was making her Grand Slam main draw debut on Tuesday. The 23-year-old suddenly flipped the script and thrilled the home crowd as she won three games in a row to get within an inch of a deciding set.
The former Roland Garros champion held her nerve to restore order in the second, making up for 42 unforced errors with 33 winners, several of which came late in the match to ultimately end the hometown favorite's hopes in straight sets.
Up next for Ostapenko is 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens, who defeated Dunne's countrywoman Heather Watson. The Belgian veteran has shown fine form on grass this year, finishing runner-up at the Libéma Open in 's-Hertogenbosch and winning an ITF Pro Circuit title in Southsea just last week.