Jelena Ostapenko marks strong win in straight sets at WTA 1000 Toronto

Jelena Ostapenko found charge in her first round match at the National Bank Open in Toronto. 

Jelena Ostapenko had a couple of ups and down but took control during the critical moments at the National Bank Open Monday. Anhelina Kalinina rattled her own game to pieces while being challenged by the 16th seed in a 6-4, 6-2 score on Court 1 at Sobeys Stadium at York University.

The Latvian was ready to restart the hard court season after less than expected results during the grass court run. With an unsuccessful defense at Eastbourne and being kicked out of Wimbledon in the fourth round, the 25-year-old eyed an easy start in Toronto. Despite having a 2-0 series lead against the Ukrainian, her 2-5 record in Canada didn’t stand up to expectations. Coming back to the tournament for the first time in three years, Ostapenko hopes she could settle her ways and be back in the hunt like she was earlier this year.

Ostapenko opened the match with two double faults between points but managed to hold serve. It wasn’t an easy start for Kalinina, who had a tough challenge from the 16th seed. The players went to deuce until an error from Ostapenko on the second break evened the score. Both struggled with their respective offense, notching double faults but held serve through the next two games.

They both notched back-to-back holds of serve, but reaching the business end of the first set for Ostapenko was her time to strike. After clinching the ninth game, the Latvian was laser focused while Kalinina notched several double faults on serve. It gave way to an easy finish of the first set that lasted 43 minutes.

The 16th seed brought the best of her offense to start the second set, landing an ace and lobbing easy point wins across the net. Despite losing the chance for a shutout, Ostapenko held with a sliced crosscourt that didn’t come back. The Latvian took a comfortable 2-0 lead, playing comfortably on the court. Backing up the break almost fell apart for Ostapenko, but saving a breakpoint from Kalinina got her to deuce and in position to secure the game. The Ukrainian found a way to get onto the scoreboard, making her shots hard for Ostapenko to return.

Kalinina got back on track with a heavy break of the 16th seed, gaining lost ground to sit a game behind. Knowing that her opponent was pressuring her on the scoreboard, Ostapenko claimed a critical break back that put her two games up and a chance to serve for a wider gap. She quickly dispatched Kalinina in the seventh, adding nerves to the Ukrainian. On serve to stay in contention, she lost the first pair of points as the Latvian responded well on returns.

She gained two points herself and then reached game point. Ostapenko forced deuce with a blistering backhand crosscourt and reached match point on a gifted error. Kalinina’s 11th double fault of the match took her out of the tournament, handing Ostapenko the victory in 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Ostapenko tallied 26 of 32 points from the first serve and saved five of six breakpoints against the Ukrainian. Despite troubles from her second serve, the points won changed up the pace of scoring and gave her a great start. She would need everything to go right in the second round when she faces the winner between Alison Riske or Petra Kvitova.