Jelena Ostapenko delivered another roller-coaster performance that took her down for the second time at the Adelaide International Tuesday. The Latvian suffered service issues that gave Anna Kalinskaya room for comfort and a 6-3, 6-4 score on Court Two at the Memorial Drive Tennis Club.
The Latvian thought she had the 2023 season going in the right direction after beating Karolina Pliskova. Unfortunately, her stunning defeat to Irina Camelia Begu last week led to her being broken six times in the round of 16 matches. She dropped 13 in the early round last season, hoping to put that behind her and get on the best foot. Kalinskaya worked her way into the main draw, winning both her qualifying matches to make it in the draw. Though she’s never met Ostapenko before, she managed to beat some tough opponents in Sasnovich and Riske to get there.
The 24-year-old opened the scoring with a shutout of Ostapenko, who nearly blanked in return but watched Kalinskaya score a point on serve. The Latvian overcame her start to the match by holding serve, getting in front of the action in the fourth. It slipped out of her control, allowing the qualifier to get the lead back, play to deuce and hold serve. Points were going against the 25-year-old, who was at the mercy of the umpire to judge close points.
It continued to be a see-saw competition through six games until a break by Kalinskaya upped her advantage and held serve in the eighth. Ostapenko struggled to overcome her issues on serve and dropped another game, handing the set to the 25-year-old in 32 minutes. The qualifier did much better than the Latvian on first-serve success, winning 13 of 19 on returns and 10 of 15 serving. Ostapenko tallied 20 points of the 52 that were played through nine games.
Kalinskaya continued along her pace, taking a quick 2-0 lead over her experienced opponent, who wasn’t improving. Despite her efforts in the third, the 24-year-old marched to a 3-0 rout of Ostapenko. On her second attempt to serve with strength, the Latvian overcame a late breakpoint chance by her opponent, forcing deuce and holding on to the break.
A big statement in the fifth notched her second win, but it was a long road to a comeback for the former Grand Slam champion. She pulled off the comeback, leveling the score, but the seventh game became frustrating for Ostapenko. Blowing two breakpoints and being gifted one on a double fault from Kalinskaya, the Latvian failed to convert the score. Despite the lost chance to sit a break-up, the 25-year-old held serve in the eighth, hoping to continue with her aggressive tennis in the business end of the set.
Kalinskaya stayed on point, serving Ostapenko to love in the ninth. With a shot to serve for the match, the 24-year-old watched as the Latvian put the balls away from her. A double fault reeled its ugly head for Ostapenko, who handed the match with a second double ending 1 hour and 19 minutes on the court.
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