Jelena Ostapenko welcomes Kiki Bertens back to tennis with a stunning defeat in straight sets

Jelena Ostapenko gained a lot of energy and confidence during her straight sets win over Kiki Bertens at the Qatar Total Open

Kiki Bertens had a rough welcome back at the Qatar Total Open Monday night. Jelena Ostapenko kicked in to run through the fifth seed on centre court 6-0, 6-2 at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. The 2016 finalist record 26 winners to Bertens six, making a big statement in the opening round. 

The two met at Strasbourg last year and went to three sets before the Latvian bowed out due to injury in the deciding set. She put together short winning streaks since that day, but didn’t get past the opening round of the Australian Open. With time to prepare for the WTA 500 tournament, Ostapenko had a chance to test the skills of her opponent, who took a break to get married. Kiki Bertens spent the last part of the 2020 season, getting hitched a month after her fourth round loss at the French Open. With a well-deserved break, the Dutch star looked to get back to business and sharpen her game once more. 

In a sign of welcoming back the Dutch star, Ostapenko allowed her one point on serve before earning the break on free points in the second for the break. Bertens had some trouble getting deep into rallies that led the Latvian to backing up her two wins with another. Sitting way off the pace, the fifth seed tried to pull it together on serve in the fourth, but came up short when going for the game point. Ostapenko forced deuce and denied Bertens another chance, scoring the double break. 

The 23 year old widened the gap on Bertens, consolidating her good with for a 5-0 lead, eyeing an easy chance at bageling. She earned it with the help of Bertens and her errors on serve that put the first set to rest in just 20 minutes. Drop shots were a big support for the Latvian, who succeeded with the tactic while nailing ten winners across the net. 

The Latvian picked up right where she left off, holding Bertens from getting on the scoreboard. One came to the Dutch star in the second, holding Ostapenko late to avoid the dreaded double bagel. Despite the loss of a shutout, the 23 year old marched on, holding serve in the third and served up a break to love on Bertens. Ostapenko’s service game battled the Dutch star in the fifth, before finishing her service game with a big statement to lead 4-1. 

Bertens had a shot at holding for another win but an error on deuce opened the door for her opponent. The Latvian’s return game got aggressive in the rally that produced a breakpoint and soon the game. She served for the match in the seventh, but Bertens responded well on the returns, scoring points on errors. With the service game lost, Ostapenko hunted down the victory in the eighth forcing deuce in the late stages before earning her first match point. 

The 23 year old put an end to the fifth seed scoring on a cross court winner that ended the night in 55 minutes.