Jelena Ostapenko retires after first set tiebreak giving Giorgi the W

Camila Giorgi celebrates a point during her quarterfinal match with Jelena Ostapenko at the Rothesay International. 

Jelena Ostapenko felt her energy run out at the Rothesay International Thursday. Trying her best to play a full match against Camila Giorgi, the 25-year-old slipped up in the tiebreak, and lost the set to retire, handing the Italian a ticket to the semifinal on Court One. It was a 71-minute battle at Devonshire Park, that saw a former champion call it quits.

The Latvian remained focused on playing as much grass tennis as possible and continued her success. Since her title win at Birmingham, Ostapenko holds a seven-match winning streak and two so far in Eastbourne. Her victories against Barbora Strycova and Heather Dart were in straight sets, setting up for a fourth duel against Giorgi. The Italian didn’t do well in Birmingham last week, losing in a thriller against Venus Williams. After wins against Heather Watson and Ons Jabeur, the 31-year-old looked to get her first win against the world number 17 on grass. Both played a total of 17 grass quarterfinals in their careers, with one of them destined to make the semis.

Ostapenko made a statement in the opening game, with a late push for break points. Giorgi forced deuce on serve, but the following point went to the Latvian. The 25-year-old avoided the same threat from the Italian, forcing deuce but holding the AD point. With a two-game lead, Ostapenko watched Giorgi serve to love in the third to get on the board. She found her footing going forward, sitting a game down of the Latvian after five games and two service holds.

The 31-year-old challenged Ostapenko on her serve in the sixth. Despite two break point chances on deuce, the Latvian held serve to stay ahead on the score. Giorgi found her footing in her second shutout of the set, biding her time to achieve a change in control. The 25-year-old sped through points, but she suffered a double fault that opened the door for Giorgi. The Italian threatened on deuce, attacking her opponent’s first serve.

After seven deuces and four break points, Giorgi captured the break to level the score. She failed to back up the break in the ninth, watching Ostapenko speed through on defense to jump back out. The Italian scored the double for a five-all situation, leading the two to the brink of the set. The fourth consecutive break of serve went the way of Ostapenko, who took advantage of Giorgi’s struggles on the serve. The door was open for her to serve out the set or face a tiebreak.

The Italian notched her third shutout to send them the distance, all while Ostapenko called for the physio due to an illness. After having a blood pressure check and a snack, the Latvian returned to action. The two split the opening four points before Ostapenko took the next three. Giorgi played some extra balls to even up at five-all, but a tough return gave the Latvian set point. The Italian saved one on a forced error, only to see a safe point bring up a second chance for her opponent. A long ball killed another for Ostapenko, but an ace brought up her third opportunity.

Giorgi matched an ace to make it eight-all, then tallied a second to gain her first set point. A return that landed behind the baseline was the final point played by Ostapenko, who made it clear her time on the court was done.