Jelena Ostapenko showed great confidence and variety in her game to routinely defeat second seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4 6-2 in the second round of the French Open. This is the first time since the Latvian lifted the title in Paris three years ago that she’s winning matches at the clay-court Grand Slam.
The world No.43 Ostapenko broke Pliskova’s serve at love to open the match. After multiple breaks on both sides the Latvian finally held serve for a 5-3 lead and proceeded to win the first set in 38 minutes. The second set was much less competitive, as Ostapenko never even faced a break point and punished Pliskova’s one-dimensional game by employing a vast spectrum of shots and techniques.
While Ostapenko showed the form that led her to her maiden WTA title in Paris in 2017, Pliskova’s exit is not such a surprise, as the Czech had a tough battle against Egyptian qualifier Mayar Sherif in the previous round.
