The two got at it for the fourth time in their careers with the Latvian holding a win over the world number five. Svitolina got the best of Ostapenko back in Doha two years ago where she edged her out in straight sets. Though the Latvian remains a dangerous player, her double faults bring out a weak spot that if not worked on, could spell trouble later in the match. The third seed put together a strong win against Andrea Petkovic but with just one match in so far down under, getting through Ostapenko proved a bigger challenge.
The 13th seed made a big statement during her opening service game. She moved Svitolina around, hitting the lines and earning points on winners. Ostapenko battled the Ukrainian’s serve but couldn’t convert the break for an early lead. Svitolina tried to pull off the same move with two double faults coming to Ostapenko in the third. She saved the game with a winner and an error from the third seed that made it a hold.
The Latvian overcame a 0-40 situation where it looked as if Svitolina would close it out quick and dictate from there. The third seed made some mistakes on returns facing an aggressive attack from Ostapenko, who forced deuce and took the break. The Latvian saw her chance to get a grip of the third seed, but an error on deuce killed not only her service game but her handing the break back.
Ostapenko had the double break in hand as Svitolina failed to get a shot inside the court. The 13th seed gained breathing room in the set, moving well on the court coming in to make it a tough defeat for the 26-year-old. Svitolina caught a break on serve, forcing errors from her opponent in the eight to hold serve. Ostapenko responded with terrific power and control to gain set points but errors killed every opportunity.
Svitolina was back in reach of tying the score with her going for the extension in the tenth. Two aces and errors from Ostapenko pushed her forward, trying to gain the lead in the set’s final moments. Despite facing some adversity, the third seed locked down the 11th for the break to serve for the set. Instead of forcing Ostapenko to err just enough, she found herself running for the returns watching a winner from the Latvian clinch a tiebreak in action.
Svitolina gained a three-point run setting off the 23-year-old, who let out a ferocious scream. Ostapenko won the next two and a third on a crosscourt forehand. After nine points, the Latvian led 5-4 before another line drive winner brought up more set points. On her fourth attempt, Ostapenko closed out the first watching Svitolina return the ball into the net ending one hour and two minutes. The Latvian scored 22 winners, but the near two dozen unforced errors almost killed her efforts.
Knowing she had to keep that number low, Ostapenko ran into trouble in the second set. The Latvian failed to get the early break and blew the serve in the following game. Svitolina led 3-0 taking down her opponent, who dug into the third game but let control get away from her. The third seed made key adjustments to grow such a lead on the Latvian but the double break eluded the 26-year-old. Forced errors got Ostapenko on the board, hoping to add on to it.
=The 13th seed didn’t get to tag another victory as errors cost her the break chance, sitting 1-4 down. A hold of serve was an important point for the Latvian who cut the gap with Svitolina in half. The Ukrainian made it hard for Ostapenko to threaten a chance to break and locked down the service to lead 5-2. The Latvian stayed in the set, holding strong in the eighth with the hope of more wins to come.
Ostapenko surged for the break in the ninth but got into trouble when Svitolina adjusted to make her point clear. On deuce, the Ukrainian took two breaks to seal up the second set and force her opponent to a decider after 36 minutes. Svitolina improved on the winners with 12 with Ostapenko losing out on failing to convert break points in the set.
She blew her opening service game in the third set, letting her frustrations out verbally to her camp in the stands. Svitolina coasted to victory with a serve to love in the second, showing comfort on the court. The same couldn’t be said of the 13th seed, who lost all control, handing the Ukrainian a break to love in the third. During the sit-down, Ostapenko took some deep breaths and turned it around with a hard-fought break of the third seed.
She gained a second win consolidating with a hold of serve in the fifth. Svitolina knew that she couldn’t let the score get any tighter and responded with two big wins that included a break of Ostapenko. With balls in hand to serve for the match, Svitolina watched as the Latvian erred three times, setting up match points. The 23-year-old saved two of them, but on a third, she scored the victory with a line drive winner ending a dramatic 2 hour and 14-minute match.
What was considered a major comeback for the world number five, only meant that her fight could come when the time needed it. She’d take it into the quarterfinals facing Elise Mertens in the last eight.
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