Jelena Ostapenko scores big win to start BNP Paribas Open

Su Wei Hsieh didn’t have a strong output to produce at the BNP Paribas Open Friday. Jelena Ostapenko dominated on Stadium 6 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to come through in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 ended the series losing streak in the process. 

This marked their third meeting and the first in two years with the Chinese player leading the series. Their last hard-court match went three sets, but the opposition of Ostapenko improved over the years. Though she hasn’t made any significant impact recently, the Latvian had her aggression to rely on if all the elements of her game end the winning streak of Hsieh. 

Ostapenko came out with a forceful service game that allowed Hsieh a couple of points. The Latvian went on to break her in the second and consolidated in the third. Her 3-game streak saw Hsieh score only four points in total, hoping to keep her down and out. Hsieh’s first serve was not in a position of strength and more of an easy ready for Ostapenko, who let her return game speak volumes on the court. It was a 4-0 run for the 24^th seed, who inched closer to the set win. 

Just when the fifth game in a row was looking good for the Latvian, Hsieh gained momentum and forced deuce. Ostapenko thought she had a shot to go back to deuce for the AD point, but a close call went the way of the 35-year-old. She added another to cut the lead in half after six. Ostapenko held an important seventh game that put her in place to go for the set, but Hsieh’s service continued to improve and kept the set going. The Latvian had her chance to close out the first and worked her mental fortitude to clinch it in 33 minutes. 

Ostapenko dominated the set scoring 14 of 20 from the first serve and 8 of 13 on the return. Hsieh’s second serve was working harder than her first which ultimately caused her to fumble and lose bigger on her returns which saw her win just 6 of 20. The next set didn’t go well for the player from Chinese Taipei, who tried to force deuce on serve but was broken instead. 

Ostapenko stayed in control despite some difficulty from Hsieh, who came up short of forcing deuce. The 35-year-old was down three games once more on a shutout from the Latvian, but couldn’t let it diminish her overall. It was the fourth that she pulled out all the stops to give Ostapenko a challenge on serve. 

Her defense achieved a prospect of chances on deuce but after blowing her third breakpoint, the 24-year-old made it fourth game straight. The effort on serve awarded her a break in the fifth that all but put the match in her hands. With the chance to serve it out on serve, the 24^th seed earned match on a net-front crosscourt smash to end the second round in 59 minutes.