Jelena Ostapenko controls late to move forward at Italian Open

Jelena Ostapenko celebrates a key point during the second round of the BNL Internazionali D'Italia. 

Jelena Ostapenko kept her consistency in check during the critical moments of her match at the BNL Internazionali D’Italia Friday. The 20th seed went the distance against Sorana Cirstea to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 at Grandstand Arena on the grounds of Foro Italico. Ostapenko had 46 winners and unforced errors in her fight against the Romanian, who saved six match points near the end.

The two haven’t met in six years, making it a new place to feel out each other on the clay courts. Ostapenko carried a 2-0 lead on the Romanian, but her opening match remained a test to see if she could keep up her streak of making it through her opening match. The Latvian has an 8-0 record in tournament starts, but even during the surface season that is her forte, the 25-year-old didn’t do well in Madrid or Stuttgart.

Cirstea made it back to the second round in Rome for the first time in 11 years, going three sets against Katie Volynets. It added to her winning streak since winning the title in Reus last week. With plenty of positivity in her game, it left a good chance to take down the former French Open champ.

The 20th seed opened first with a shaky service game that saw an ace and a double fault. She reeled it in on deuce to cap the service and face her opponent’s serve. The Latvian got a jump on the score before Cirstea rallied her end to deuce. Containing the AD point was a tough ask for the 33-year-old, who gave the break, to Ostapenko. The Romanian broke back in the third, but during the sit-down, Cirstea complained about the conditions of the court and wanted to speak to a referee.

The two held serve each before Ostapenko rallied to take the sixth in quick form. She backed it up, shutting out the 33-year-old, who faced a three-game gap. She managed to hold in the eighth, but the Latvian set herself up with two set points, scoring the victory on a wide return from Cirstea that ended the first in 35 minutes. Ostapenko recorded 14 winners that at times came in a string to beat the Romanian, who struggled with 9 of 27 won from the return.

She opened the second with a hold of serve and soon brought together a challenge for the 20th seed. Four errors from Ostapenko in the second game caused frustration on her side. She tried to get a grip on deuce, but wide returns gave the 33-year-old a 2-0 stand. Cirstea battled the Latvian to back up the break, but it took three breaks of deuce to get it done.

The last two games saw the 20th seed tally more unforced errors than she did in the opening set. Despite the problems, she recovered in the fourth to hold serve but stood two games down. She pushed the 33-year-old to produce break point chances, but the errors killed her efforts to break. Two more on deuce went south, giving Cirstea an AD point chance and leading 4-1. With the Romanian closing in on forcing three on the court, the 20th seed needed the service to strengthen fast.

Cirstea took advantage of her opponent’s issues, opening up opportunities to break the 20th seed. After four breaks and attempts, the Romanian got the job done to take a 5-1 grip of the set and serve for the decider. Ostapenko kept the fight alive in the seventh, saving two set points before gaining an AD point to break back. The Latvian backed up the break in the eighth, but her comeback tour was cut short in the ninth. 

Cirstea held Ostapenko to a point for two set points, forcing the decider on a long return. It was a terrific output performance from the Romanian after 57 minutes, working out the kinks and watching her opponent struggle. Ostapenko made 24 unforced errors and missed six break points in the set. Despite double-faulting three times, Cirstea had the game at a level she was comfortable going forward with.

Ostapenko got herself in a great position, scoring a serve to love to open the third set. She battled against the service of Cirstea, who gave break chances to the Latvian. The two went to deuce, where break points came to Ostapenko, who closed it out on her fourth opportunity. She was setting the pace on the court, rushing through the third to allow the 33-year-old a point. After 16 minutes, the 20th seed was halfway through the set.

Cirstea put the brakes on the 25-year-old in the fourth, getting on the board to stop the rush. She couldn’t stop the Latvian on serve, who scored her second shutout. The 25-year-old captured the important break to serve for a shot at the match in the seventh. Ostapenko rolled to two match points, but a forehand into the net kept Cirstea alive. The Latvian made it deuce on another error but brought up an AD point. The Romanian saved a third attempt for the 20th seed but couldn’t keep the momentum to break.

Ostapenko was wide on her fourth match point and, after saving a second break point, watched her fifth go long of the baseline near Cirstea. Her sixth went into the net and would be her last when she sent another return long. The Romanian was rewarded for her efforts to tally her second game of the set. It was the sign of a massive shift after saving six match points, but on serve in the eighth, she gave up errors to Ostapenko. The Latvian didn’t let her seventh match point go to waste, delivering a brilliant return to watch a forced error become the final stat after 2 hours and 15 minutes.

The two played 205 combined points, with the 20th seed tallying 46 errors and 46 winners perfectly. While it wasn’t a stat of pride, Ostapenko had to make the necessary changes before her round of 16 showdown against Barbora Krejcikova.