BEIJING, China - Jelena Ostapenko weathered three sets against World No.2 Karolina Pliskova - along with 25 of her own double faults - to book her place into the second round of the China Open, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
“I’m proud of the way I was fighting,” Ostapenko told WTA afterward. “I was fighting until the last moment. And even though she’s serving really well, I was like, very positive. I was never too negative - I was fighting until the last point.”
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Ostapenko came into the Chinese capital looking to bounce back after a disappointing run in Tashkent, where she had to retire in the first round due to a gastrointestinal illness. The former French Open champion has been struggling to find momentum throughout the Asian Swing: entering Beijing, she had contested three tournaments (Zhengzhou, Seoul and Tashkent) and claimed just one win in total.
“I mean, there I had to go out, unfortunately,” Ostapenko said of Tashkent. “I even went to the hospital to check my stomach and everything, because it was pretty bad. And then a couple of days I needed to recover, I didn’t practice at all. I wanted to make sure I’m, like, 100% to play this tournament.
“And of course, it’s always a little bit harder the next couple of days. After Tashkent, I practiced on Thursday and Friday, it was a little bit tough because I didn’t hit at all, and I didn’t feel that well the days before. But I think I’m feeling good now.”
But the former World No.5 - now ranked No.74 - found another level against Pliskova on Diamond Court, firing 47 winners and 11 aces on route to the marathon two-and-a-half-hour win, her second Top 10 win of the year.
She was almost undone by her own lights-out tennis - those winners and aces were offset by a whopping 53 unforced errors and 25 double faults - but she stayed steady to advance.
It was Ostapenko who emerged victorious in a tightly contested opening set featuring a combined seven breaks of serve.
Pliskova out started with the early break, taking command and consolidating to a 3-1 lead, but big-hitting Ostapenko stayed on her heels. Ostapenko had created three break chances at 3-1, before finally leveling the score at 3-3.
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The pair were deadlocked through the next four breaks of serve in a row, with Ostapenko having to battle scoreboard pressure as well as she broke back at 4-4 and 5-5. Finally, it was Ostapenko who held serve first, at 6-5, and surged ahead to a final break on her third set point to take it 7-5.
Pliskova put her disappointment behind her in the second set, opening again with an early break, 1-0. She fought off four break points in two subsequent service games to keep her advantage, and a final break at 6-3 gave her the set to force a decider.
But Ostapenko was right back in it in the final set, breaking at 2-1 to start off in control before Pliskova found the break back at 3-3. The pair were deadlocked on serve in the next four games that followed, with Pliskova serving ahead and applying more scoreboard pressure, forcing Ostapenko to hold from 5-4 down.
The Latvian passed the test and it was Pliskova who blinked first, giving up her serve at 6-5 as Ostapenko served out the victory after a marathon two hours and 28 minutes.
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“I mean it was a great match from my side, I was working really hard to play these kinds of matches,” Ostapenko said. “Of course, when I saw the draw I was not super happy with the draw, but on the other side I have nothing to lose against Karolina because she’s playing very well this season. I mean, in general she has a great serve.
“So I went on the court and I said to myself, I’m just going to try to enjoy it as much as I can. And yeah, just feel the moment, because I’m playing on Center Court against No.2 in the world. So, it cannot be better.”
Up next, Ostapenko will take on Katerina Siniakova in the second round. The Czech player took down Chinese wildcard Wang Xiyu 6-2, 6-2 earlier in the day.
