Ostapenko topples Krejcikova to capture Birmingham title

No.2 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia claimed her first title of the year at the Rothesay Classic on Sunday, defeating No.1 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 7-6(8), 6-4 in the championship match.

In a match between Top 20 players and French Open singles champions, the 2017 Roland Garros titlist Ostapenko needed 1 hour and 51 minutes for the win, fending off a second-set comeback from 5-1 down by the 2021 Roland Garros victor Krejcikova. 

"Just to fight for every single point, and to play until the very last point, because some matches I was down, but I managed to win them," Ostapenko said. "I’m just really proud of myself the way I fought. That’s probably the key, which brought me the title here."

Fast facts: Ostapenko won her sixth career singles title by notching her only straight-sets win of the entire week. It is her first title since winning Seoul in September of last year and her second career title on grass (she also won 2021 Eastbourne).

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In the final, each player won 75 percent of their first-service points, but Ostapenko was more effective behind her second serve. The Latvian won two-thirds of her second-service points, while Krejcikova only won half of her own.

Ostapenko now holds a 5-2 lead in her head-to-head with Krejcikova. Before the late second-set surge by Krejcikova, Sunday's score line was very similar to the score line from their last meeting, where Ostapenko prevailed 7-6(2), 6-0 on the clay courts of Rome this year.

Key moments: Both players were mostly untroubled in their service games in the opening set, where there were no breaks. In the critical tiebreak, Ostapenko used her power to grab the upper hand in a couple of pivotal rallies, which gave her a 6-4 lead and double set point.

But Krejcikova saved both of those set points and a third at 7-6, and the Czech garnered her own set point at 8-7 after drawing errors from Ostapenko. However, Ostapenko erased that chance with a backhand crosscourt winner to regain level footing at 8-8.

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Ostapenko then reached 9-8, grabbing her fourth set point by slamming a forehand winner down the line. The Latvian converted that opportunity, prevailing in a rally to take the first set after nearly an hour of play.

In the second set, Ostapenko saw a commanding 5-1 lead narrowed to 5-4 as Krejcikova staged a last-minute fightback. But the second seed successfully served out the match at her second time of asking, closing out the victory with a forehand winner down the line.

Kostyuk, Krejcikova clinch doubles crown: Krejcikova did take home one title this week, as she teamed with Marta Kostyuk to defeat Storm Hunter and Alycia Parks 6-2, 7-6(7) in the Rothesay Classic doubles final later on Sunday.

No.2 seeds Kostyuk and Krejcikova bested No.3 seeds Hunter and Parks in 1 hour and 28 minutes, twice coming back from a break down in the second set. It is the 17th WTA doubles title for former doubles World No.1 Krejcikova and the second WTA doubles title for Kostyuk.

Kostyuk and Krejcikova held four consecutive match points at 6-2 in the second-set tiebreak, but Hunter and Parks swept five points in a row to grab a set point at 7-6. However, Kostyuk and Krejcikova regrouped and took the next three points to emerge victorious.