Tatjana Maria downs Jelena Ostapenko in three set upset at Wimbledon

Tatjana Maria clenches her fist during her round of 16 match with Jelena Ostapenko at the Championships Wimbledon. 

Tatjana Maria pulled off a major victory that continued her best run at the Championships Wimbledon Sunday. As the oldest player left in the ladies' draw, the German played strong through three sets, with Jelena Ostapenko on No. 1 Court winning 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. It broke the Latvian’s 2-0 record at the All England Tennis Club in fourth-round situations.

The two met for the first time in a pivotal moment for the players, with the German making it to the round of 16. The Latvian eyed more than just another semifinal; surpassing the first week was a top priority. The 25-year-old worked hard against Begu, going three sets in that battle. Maria bested Maria Sakkari in straight sets, which stood out as an upset from the world-ranked 103rd player over the fifth. With a massive statement made, the 34-year-old prepared to give the former semifinalist a challenge.

Ostapenko opened the match with near-flawless service until her first double fault made it to the court. The 12th seed brushed it off and locked down the win, bringing Maria close to the net before she sliced a winner far from her. The German had a similar breakdown of points, but did not commit a double fault. She did well in the third, gaining breakpoints and playing every point before taking the lead.

With inconsistencies occurring from Ostapenko’s game, the German consolidated the break to take a 3-1 lead. A chance for the double break came on the horizon for Maria, who jumped ahead in the fifth. Two errors leveled the Latvian to deuce before gaining the AD point and landed a clean winner to hold. She backed up the hold with a break of Maria, leveling the score after six games, hoping to have found some momentum.

The 12th seed picked up her third win in a row, fighting Maria in a closely fought seventh game. The next two games went the way of service holds nearing the business end of the set, with Ostapenko leading 5-4. Drawing errors from the 12th seed led to a leveling of the score that took the set deep. Ostapenko made the first push to regain the lead, leaving Maria to win or swim her way to a tiebreak.

The 12th seed had to work hard to force deuce in a heavily contested game she wanted to close out. Gaining set point on a challenged call gave her confidence to stay focused and land a winner away from Maria to end the first in 39 minutes. It was a better output from the Latvian, who had just one double fault but racked 17 errors compared to Maria with nine. Having 17 winners was a major standout of the success built to move into the following set.

Ostapenko constructed a 3-0 run that did not come easy but forced errors, and good challenges left the Latvian in charge. Maria turned things around on plenty of forced errors to the 12th seed, preventing the double break. The 34-year-old nearly had a grip on the fifth game when she was up 30-0, but the 12th seed fought back on serve and cleared the way to hold. She pulled out a new racket in hopes that she could lock the last two games needed for the match.

Maria refused to give her a game from her end of the court, forcing the 25-year-old to earn it from hers. Ostapenko missed some critical points that allowed the German to break back and sit a game down. Maria constructed a serve to love in the eighth that erased Ostapenko’s gap in the set. Frustrated with the ground lost, the 12th seed forced things to turn around and play some easy points near the net to conduct a much-needed win. With the lead in hand, Maria was on the ropes to stay alive on serve in the tenth. Drawing two errors was a good start for the Latvian, who gained another one on the fourth point to reach match point. Maria saved it with a line drive winner and then watched a ball land long to force deuce. An ace on the first break gave Maria another chance to play on in the set.

The 11th was a critical one for both, but huge points went the way of Maria, who clinched it for the break. The German sealed the set with a serve to love that forced a deciding set after 41 minutes. The 34-year-old improved her offense, scoring 85 percent of points won while limiting the errors to a pair. It rattled the Latvian, who still recorded 13 winners but committed 18 errors total.

Knowing that she could have been into the quarterfinals, Ostapenko went into the third set, holding serve to start. She consolidated the hold with a break of Maria in the second, but bad returns in the third gave the German a break back. The 34-year-old consolidated to level the score at two-all, gaining leverage against Ostapenko. The Latvian stepped up in the fifth to gain back some momentum, holding serve for the lead.

Maria followed along, but the Latvian was against being even with the competition. In the seventh, Ostapenko took the win on a long return. Despite the errors that secured the hold for Ostapenko, Maria did well with the offense, scoring another serve to love that evened the score through eighth with the match closing in on its conclusion. The ninth game was a tug of war for control and the lead. After the dust settled, the German took the lead at 5-4, with balls in hand to serve for a spot in the last eight.

Ostapenko denied her that chance, playing on shots from Maria that she was comfortable handling. It was the third consecutive set they went deep into, and in the eleventh, Ostapenko gifted critical points to Maria, who took the lead once more. In her second attempt at serving for the match, the German watched Ostapenko miss an easy point leading to her breaking a racket. After getting a new one, she handed Maria a long error that put her two points away.

The 34-year-old drove a winner down the line to bring up three match points. One was saved by the 12th seed, who made the point was all hers. A crosscourt from Ostapenko landed wide, ending a two-hour and seven minute thriller.

Jelena Ostapenko rallies to win in three sets at Wimbledon

Jelena Ostapenko hits a forehand across the court to Irina Camelia Begu during their third-round match at the Championships Wimbledon. 

Irina Camelia Begu watched her good start fall completely apart at the Championships Wimbledon Friday. Jelena Ostapenko didn’t have the best attack pattern but managed a stellar service coming through 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 to make it to the fourth round for the third time in her career on Court 3 at the All England Tennis Club. The 12th seed notched 28 winners against the competition, indicating her comfort level.

The two met for the third time and first in four years. The Romanian defeated the Latvian in both meetings that occurred on clay courts. With the situation on grass, the 12th seed eyed keeping her consistent play a success and inch closer to the second week. Her defeat of Yanina Wickmayer on Tuesday indicated her strengths to be just where she wanted them. The Latvian had already notched 74 winners in her two wins so far. Despite carrying a losing record against Begu, her focus at the All England has been tough to break. The Romanian had yet to face anyone ranked but did put in the time to defeat Elisabetta Cocciaretto. With her crosshairs aimed at Ostapenko, she’d hope for a third win and a new personal best.

The 25-year-old opened with a serve to love, followed by Begu holding her end in the second game. She went on to add a break for the lead but was broken right back by Ostapenko. On serve in the fifth, she trailed due to a double fault and forced deuce to prevent Begu from getting the double. After saving a break from the Romanian, she played through three more breaks to hold.

Begu leveled the score and again consolidated with a break for a 4-3 lead. The 31-year-old rallied to two games before double faults continued to be a problem for the 12th seed, who let another game slip away. By the time Begu won the set 6-3, Ostapenko tallied six double faults and 22 unforced errors in 31 minutes.

All of her troubles turned around in a dominant fashion after Begu recorded a win during the opening game of the second set. Ostapenko answered in the second with a second serve to love and was then gifted the third game on a troubling service from Begu. Double faults rattled the Romanian to lose on serve and quickly find herself two games down. The 31-year-old tried to reel in her troubles, but two double faults made that difficult. It resulted in Ostapenko scoring the double break for a 4-1 stand.  

The 12th seed went into the sixth game feeling comfortable with her game which sat her a game away from leveling the match. Begu’s offense wasn’t in a strong position and double-faulted a fifth time before errors cost her a chance to stay alive and give Ostapenko the victory after 29 minutes. With the momentum, Ostapenko managed to speed the games along, which led to Begu struggling where her five aces in the set were negated, with zero percent return points won and just 27 from the second serve.

She took a bathroom break, leaving Ostapenko on the court to freeze up. Luckily, the break wasn’t long as the Romanian returned to begin the decider. Ostapenko rushed through the first with a strong service and linked a break of serve in the second with help from a double fault on Begu. The Latvian took a commanding 3-0 score before Begu managed her way onto the scoreboard.

The 25-year-old brushed off the missed chance to bagel her opponent and went into the fifth game with a mission. She batted off a double fault and held serve to keep her three-game lead on Begu, who had to dig in. A sliced serve came back in the shape of a line drive winning return and another pair of winners to break Begu to love. It was the perfect setup for her to serve for the match where she handled an error and watched the Romanian give her an edge. An unreturnable serve brought up match point, which came on a return into the net from the 31-year-old, ending the day on court in 1 hour and 29 minutes.

“When I was down, I felt that I didn’t play my game very well,” Ostapenko said during her on-court interview. “I was then motivated and wanted to get back into it and play my game. She started the match very well, but I didn’t bring my level.” “I started to play a little smarter and just managed to win the match.” She’ll await the winner between Maria Sakkari or Tatiana Maria in what will be a major clash on middle Sunday.