Jelena Ostpenko captures Viking International championship in straight sets over Anett Kontaveit.

 

Jelena Ostapenko lifts her fourth career WTA trophy after her match with Anett Kontaveit at the Viking International in Eastbourne England

Jelena Ostapenko impressed not only herself but many in the tennis world at the Viking International Saturday. What was expected to be a closer competition ended with the Latvian being well in control of her serve to defeat Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 6-3, winning her fourth WTA career title on center court at Devonshire Park in Eastbourne. It was the first win against the Estonian for the 24-year-old, who was on fire through the tournament to launch an attack that set her up for greatness. 

The Baltic battle occurred for the fourth time between the two stars with the Estonian leading the way. Kontaveit and Ostapenko met last season at the Merko Cup where it took three sets to determine a winner. While the Estonian has a good grip against the Latvian, meeting for a WTA title would prove most difficult. Both have dropped a set twice on their way to the final but a break for Kontaveit yesterday against Giorgi gave her energy to bring against the former French Open champion. It would take a lot of focus from Ostapenko to remain confident and score big before Wimbledon. 

The 25-year-old opened the match with an ace and held the Latvian to a single point on service. Ostapenko earned a similar victory but didn’t record an ace or a double fault. A battle ensued for control in the third as the 24-year-old produced breakpoints that led them to deuce. After the third break, she captured the break to gain a leg up and held the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. With the pace going Ostapenko’s way, Kontaveit had to hold serve in the fifth but she was out of sorts, leading to a 1-4 deficit. 

Carrying a fourth-game winning streak, the 24-year-old worked the first serve with good ball placement. Errors rattled her in the sixth, but one from Kontaveit gave her an AD point on deuce to come through it and go up 5-1. The Estonian played to stay in the set, but the momentum was running high across the court. She somehow found something from her offense that held off the Latvian, scoring her first hold since the opening game. 

She made a statement on the return side in the eighth, gaining an early lead on the Latvian. Kontaveit had three break points and won seven of the last ten points. The 25-year-old fired back the winning return that shut Ostapenko out, leaving her with a two-game margin. The Latvian caught a huge break in the ninth game as Kontaveit committed errors on serve that sent them to deuce, but a huge double fault that ended the first in 32 minutes. Ostapenko only had eight winners in the set, but it was the service from the Estonian that struggled with three double faults and how she wanted her game to flow. 

While she stood at the drawing board, the Latvian opened service comfortably to hold. Kontaveit had to work hard to secure her own service game that saw each of the challenged calls on the court. Despite going to deuce, she held after denying Ostapenko a breakpoint chance, taking it on the second break. The Latvian continued to look good on serve locking down the third and went on to consolidate with a break. 

She had another streak built up after five games, running through Kontaveit, who had some issues with her back but hadn’t called for the physio. She managed to hold serve, snapping another streak for Ostapenko, who had two games between them. The 24-year-old was in overdrive, scoring more winners that got her through the service in the seventh sitting one game for the championship. 

Kontaveit served to extend the match all while a fine rain began to fall on the court. She drew errors from Ostapenko early before a winning return made it 30-15. The 24-year-old leveled the score with a 12^th winner but felt pressure in the next rally that gave Kontaveit game point. Ostapenko answered with another winner for deuce, but two aces from the Estonian got her out of trouble on serve. 

It was on the Latvian to serve for the title herself and started off with two cross-court winners. Kontaveit answered with a winner on the third point, but it was all for naught as Ostapenko achieved championship point on a cross-court return. The Estonian denied her one but the second came on a long ball past the baseline to end the day and give Ostapenko her first grass-court title after 65 minutes. 

The victory made Ostapenko only the third wild card player in the tournament’s history that went on to win the title. The Latvian had 24 winners and produced no double faults for the second match in a row. “I was trying to go without any expectations,” said Ostapenko. “Just to enjoy the tennis because I knew Annett is such a great player, and it was going to be a very difficult match. So I was really mentally ready for it and tried to play my tennis.”

It was the first title for the Latvian since winning in Luxembourg two years ago, making it not only special to have a fourth title but be well prepared for the near future. “I just enjoyed this week so much and it’s great to win a title before Wimbledon,” she said. “It gives me kind of confidence.”