Jelena Ostsapenko outlasts Kerber to advance at the Rome Masters

Jelena Ostaoenko eyed the return back against Angelique Kerber during her third round match at the BNL Internazionali D'Italia Thursday

Jelena Ostapenko had to battle both the wind and the competition that earned her a place in the quarterfinals of the BNL Internazionali D’Italia Thursday. Angelique Kerber fell to the conditions on court, recording 13 double faults that cost her in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 result on Grandstand Arena at the Foro Italico in Rome. 

The two met three years ago with the German coming through with the win on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Coming into the round of 16, both players have had easy paths with Ostapenko trusting her return game to dominate while Kerber got through a tough opener and soon found herself lucky against Halep. The Romanian played her hardest in the opening set, but an injury to her leg forced her out of the battle, giving Kerber the sudden pass. As both face off once more, the players would use their forehands to bother the other as one would come out on top. 

Ostapenko opened service, but quickly found her game under attack and broken. She had the tenacity to take advantage of Kerber’s two double faults in the second and force deuce. They went five breaks before the Latvian found an AD point to lockdown. Through the next four games, neither one could hold serve but remained tight on the scoreboard. Kerber broke Ostapenko to love in the seventh and somehow found a way to dig in that helped her secure the first hold of the set. 

The 23-year-old also clinched a service game for herself in the ninth, but the German carried leverage over the former French Open champion. The 33-year-old with comfort in her game found it easy to finish off the Latvian with a serve to love completing the first set in 43 minutes. Despite having six double faults, Kerber managed to limit the number of unforced errors (13) that allowed her to edge Ostapenko, who had too many errors combined (25).  

Despite losing out on a chance to lead, the Latvian found her way into the second set, holding serve in the first. Kerber answered in the second despite needing to force deuce and deny Ostapenko a second breakpoint. The 23-year-old sealed up another service game before scoring a break in the fourth. She went on to hold well in the fifth that consolidated, giving her a 4-1 stance against the former world number one. 

Kerber made her way back slowly, getting one game at a time while holding the Latvian back from taking the set. By the eighth, she was two games down trying to force the issue and inch closer to tying the set. As the court began to try up, Ostapenko found her mark to play her best, remaining aggressive and fend off Kerber on serve in the ninth to take the second in 40 minutes. The 23-year-old improved the first serve percentage while landing more winners (17) and limiting the unforced errors (16). With Kerber still recording too many double faults, the Latvian had a chance to counter her opponent in the decider. 

The German opened the third with a service hold with Ostapenko following suit. The pace changed after Kerber nailed down another service game and then took a break from the 23-year-old. She was broken back in the fifth when she committed two more double faults totaling 12 overall. Kerber tried to hold her lead on the Latvian’s service in the sixth with a threat for the break. Ostapenko forced deuce from her end and dug in for an eight-deuce battle. It was in that game that the 23-year-old saved five more break points before getting the key AD point that leveled the score. 

After playing so many points in the previous game, Ostapenko worked well against Kerber, who was running into trouble again and suffered a break she couldn’t afford. With the leg up, the Latvian controlled well in the eight to seal her service and play for the match. The German brought the heat on her first serve, launching difficult shots at the 23-year-old, who fell under the pressure that put the margin at a game. 

Ostapenko struggled on serve during a key point where holding would end her day but instead fell behind on errors. She miraculously turned it around from 15-30 scoring an ace, landing a crosscourt winner for match point, and taking the victory after 2 hours and 11 minutes with a drawn error. The Latvian held it all together well scoring 51 winners against Kerber and made only four double faults in total. With that being a major improvement and earning a big win over a tough opponent, Ostapenko would see another come in her direction in the shape of Karolina Pliskova.