Jelena Ostapenko rolls easy through Sofia Kenin at DDF Tennis Championships

Jelena Ostapenko clenches her fist during her first-round match with Sofia Kenin at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. 

Jelena Ostapenko came out hot, and fired up the competition at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships Tuesday. The Latvian controlled the pace of the match from the third game on as she trounced Sofia Kenin in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 on centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. The Latvian scored seven aces while allowing the American just three games in a lopsided score. 

Both had a win against one another coming into their third career meeting. The American gained her first defeat of the French Open champion on the same courts she went on to win the title at five years ago. When it comes to the hard courts, the Latvian carried a better record hoping that her run back in St. Petersburg would roll well into the UAE. She made the second round last year and Kenin was back in the draw since 2020. With both players having a different style of tennis, either one of them would conduct a battle for the other. 

The Latvian got the match started with a comfortable hold from her end, but didn’t expect to see struggles early from Kenin. The 23-year-old had trouble with her form that got her into a hiccup early but got out of it by holding after a threat of deuce. Ostapenko went on to hold the third, scoring the first break on double faults committed by Kenin. The Latvian struggled to back up the break, as she got into trouble when the American forced deuce. 

The two went four breaks where Ostapenko saved two break chances to maintain her service. In retaliation for such efforts, she ravaged to 0-40 and held after losing two to sit up 5-1. The Latvian had the double break and sealed the first set, allowing Kenin a point before it was hers in 27 minutes. All was right with Ostapenko, who despite having three double faults nailed five aces and kept the first serve at 66 percent. Kenin struggled on both sides of the ball, scoring 5 of 11 from the first and four of nine from the second. Her return game was in the dumps, winning on 4 of 19. 

Things looked to improve when she scored a serve to love to open the second set and broke the Latvian to lead for the first time. Ostapenko got out of the jam quickly, responding with a serve to love in the third and holding serve in the fourth. She fought to earn the double break and backed it up with a fourth consecutive game. Blanking Kenin handed her a triple break that set her up for a massive victory. Serving for the match in the eighth, Ostapenko allowed the 23-year-old just one point to walk off the court with a massive upset that took 54 minutes. 

It was there that she had three double faults and only two aces, with Kenin lowering her double faults significantly. Unfortunately for the American, her offense stayed quiet, winning only six points from her service end and five on the returns. An improvement of her game was needed to get back on track, while Ostapenko moved into the second round on fire.