(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Jelena Ostapenko won the 2023 Rothesay Classic on Sunday. In the clash between the two highest seeds in the draw, the second seed beat the top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova 7-6(8), 6-4. The match came short of two hours by just nine minutes.
Neither player dropped her serve in the first set. Krejcikova saved the only break point she faced while Ostapenko saved two. In the second set, the latter was the one to go up a break swiftly. Ostapenko led 5-1 in the second set but Krejcikova pulled back the set to 5-4 before the Latvian clinched the match in the 10th game.
Both players won high percentage of first-serve points. Krejcikova won 74% while Ostapenko won 76%. But Ostapenko won 67% of her second-serve points to her opponent’s 50%. Just seven points separated the two players at the end of the match, Ostapenko had 79 points to Krejcikova’s 72.
Rothesay Classic: Jelena Ostapenko extends dominance over Barbora Krejcikova
Following the result, Ostapenko said, “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.
I’m just really proud of myself the way I fought. That’s probably the key, which brought me the title here”. The Rothesay Classic’s the sixth title of Jelena Ostapenko’s career. It’s also the 26-year-old’s second title on grass, in three finals.
Her only loss came in 2021, at the Eastbourne International at the hands of Petra Kvitova. It’s also Ostapenko’s first time she’s won a title in the 2023 season. While Jelena Ostapenko’s win didn’t affect her ranking, she’s still ranked 17th, for Krejcikova, the result meant she gained two places in the WTA rankings.
Last Monday, on 19th June, Barbora Krejcikova was ranked 12th. This week, on the 26th June, she’s made her way back into the top-10, as the world no. 10. Photo Credit: Darren Staples/AFP/Manila Times
