Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko hit an impressive number of 40 winners in just one hour and 26 minutes to beat fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open and prevent the Dane from getting back to the Top 10.
From 2-all, Ostapenko broke Wozniacki’s serve twice and served for the set at 5-2, eventually using her third set point to confidently march into the second set with the Dane looking like a spectator in the match. After recording 18 winners to just five unforced errors in the first set, the world No.66 Ostapenko continued her dominance early in the second set, breaking Wozniacki in the opening game. The former world number one finally halted her opponent’s momentum by winning two games in a row for a 2-1 lead in the second set, but Caro’s good times were short-lived as Ostapenko raced to 4-2. Serving for the match at 5-4, Ostapenko saved two break points, eventually converting her fourth match point to win 6-2 6-4.
Ostapenko’s opponent in the semifinals will be sixteen years older Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who eliminated hometown favorite Shelby Rogers after losing the first set in a tiebreak. The other semifinal will be played between German Laura Siegemund, who continued her Charleston fairytale with a 6-2 6-4 victory over eighth seed Anastasija Sevastova, and Russian Daria Kasatkina, who beat tenth seed Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4 6-1. (photo: Jimmie48)
Emman Damian, pity that in the final Ostapenko showed just a fraction of the aggressiveness and precision she displayed against Wozniacki.
Jelena was very aggressive on this match. If Caro won this match, she could have taken the title.
I agree. She did not show her best tennis that day. She was overpowered by Dashka.