Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko capped a perfect week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova in Saturday’s final.
After beating as many as four Grand Slam champions in a row (Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep), the 2017 Roland Garros winner Ostapenko spent just 65 minutes to overcome the last obstacle en route to her fifth career title.
The 24-year-old Ostapenko raced through the first set of the final. The world No.31 Kudermetova stopped her momentum by taking two straight games at the start of the second set. The Latvian managed to level to 2-2 and then earn another break to go up 5-3. Even though she was broken when serving for victory, Ostapenko finished the job in the following game.
Currently ranked No.21, Ostapenko is projected to return to the Top 20 for the first time since October 2018. Her position in the updated WTA rankings will be No.13.
Later on Saturday, Ostapenko and Kudermetova will also meet each other in the doubles final. (photo: Jimmie48)
