Jelena Ostapenko on upward trajectory as clay season gains momentum
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Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko's win at the Stuttgart Open lifted her six places in the world rankings to 18th.
PHOTO: AFP
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MADRID – Jelena Ostapenko is starting to show shades of the form that saw her crowned French Open champion in 2017, with the Latvian beating the top two players in the world en route to winning the Stuttgart Open title on April 21.
She will be in action in Madrid this week and is also dreaming of another deep run at Roland Garros.
The 27-year-old became the first woman to defeat the world No. 1 and No. 2 in the same clay-court event since Serena Williams at Madrid in 2012 by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the Stuttgart final and Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals.
Her ninth tour-level title, and just her second on clay, lifted Ostapenko six places in the world rankings to 18th, marking her out as a dark horse ahead of the French Open, which begins on May 25.
“Honestly, I didn’t tell anyone, but I felt confident since the first day. I had a strange feeling in a good way,” she said in Stuttgart following her victory.
“When I came here, I felt like something’s going to happen... I pretty much felt that I can win this tournament. I think I’m improving day by day and I’m playing better and better. I think I deserve it.”
Ostapenko, who also beat Swiatek on the way to the Doha final in February before losing to Amanda Anisimova, has failed to reach a Grand Slam final since her Roland Garros breakthrough in 2017.
However, she said playing without the burden of expectation had worked wonders for her this season.
“I had enough pressure in my career,” said the Latvian, who kicks off her Madrid Open campaign on April 24. “I didn’t feel it even though it was the final. In my mind, I was just playing a match.
“Obviously I can play well on this surface. I will take it match by match, but anything can happen.”
Meanwhile, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka crashed out in the first round in Madrid on April 22 with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat by Lucia Bronzetti.
The Japanese former world No. 1, ranked 55th, battled back with a strong second set after losing the first, but eventually came up short against her determined Italian opponent.
“From the outside maybe it seems easy, but when you’re on the court against a great champion like her it’s always difficult – I’m proud with how I managed the match,” said Bronzetti.
“She hit the ball very strong... I tried to make some variation in my game like drop shot, I got a lot of points with that.”
Emma Raducanu came through her first round in Madrid after coming from a break down in both sets to defeat No. 73-ranked Suzan Lamens 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
It was the Briton’s first win on outdoor clay courts since 2022.
The former US Open champion, now ranked 49th, will face Ukraine’s No. 24 seed Marta Kostyuk in the second round. REUTERS, AFP
