Jelena Ostapenko edge Alexandrova in three sets at San Diego Open.

Jelena Ostapenko clenches her first during the first round of the San Diego Open. 

Jelena Ostapenko came through in a topsy-turvy competition at the San Diego Open on Tuesday. Ekaterina Alexandrova had momentum and was on the verge of taking the third set until the tide changed for the Latvian, winning 7-6(3), 6-7(6), 7-5 on Court Two at the Barnes Tennis Center.

The two met for an eighth time, with a few coming in their ITF days. Alexandrova won their most recent two matches, going the distance against the Latvian in each of them. Though she carries the series lead, Ostapenko had her share of three-setters at the US Open, losing in the quarterfinals to eventual champ Coco Gauff. For the second straight tournament, the 26-year-old suffered scheduling issues in tournaments, playing late Monday night in doubles.

In her singles opener, Ostapenko laid down two aces before shutting out Alexandrova. The eighth seed followed suit, holding serve, and things remained that way through four. After saving breakpoints on serve, the 28-year-old produced breakpoints against Ostapenko, who managed to force deuce. An ace assisted the eighth seed to attain the AD point and the lead. Alexandrova backed up the break with an easy service, only to see her opponent remain comfortable on serve.

The Latvian went for the break in the eighth, covering the gap, and took the lead back in the ninth. Alexandrova remained in touch with her opponent, forcing further action into the set. Ostapenko saved breakpoints on serve to take the important 6-5 stand, trying to avoid a tiebreak. The momentum stuck with Ostapenko, but Alexandrova continued to battle for a way to challenge. After five breaks and three set points saved, the 28-year-old forced the tiebreak. T

The Latvian began her runaway performance, opening a 5-1 gap to Alexandrova. The eighth seed took it like a grain of salt, gaining two before Ostapenko reached set point. A long crosscourt gave the Latvian the first set after 57 minutes. The 28-year-old had four double faults in total, during the lengthy set, which Ostapenko performed well. The Latvian had four aces and a strong first serve to put her in the running to hold off going forward.

She took the opening game with a break and backed it up on serve in the second. Ostapenko easily achieved the double break and enjoyed the game she delivered to Alexandrova. She backed up things in the fourth in a shutout of the eighth seed, gripping all the control. Alexandrova blew her chance for the triple break, giving two points to the eighth seed, who went on to save her service and avoid the bagel.

Gaining some momentum for herself, the eighth seed threatened Ostapenko’s squeaky-clean service in the set. She cut the lead in half for the break and got within a game after the seventh. Frustration got to the Latvian, who had two games left to attain, only to have the competition hunting for more. Ostapenko breathed a sigh of relief after holding the eighth game and going for the match.

The ninth game was tight, but the Latvian managed to bring up a match point. A bad forehand brought Alexandrova to deuce, who got her way out of danger, taking the service hold. Alexandrova was gifted a shot to push the match three sets after Ostapenko suffered problems with the service. The 28-year-old took the lead at 6-5, playing for her chance to go three with Ostapenko. The 26-year-old started clean but faced big hits on the return from Alexandrova. The Latvian saved her opponent’s first set point of the match to go on and take the game to set up another tiebreak.

Alexandrova came out 3-0 and got into a struggle for set point against Ostapenko. After a six-all tie, the eighth seed went on to take her fifth set point attempt and cap the second in just under an hour. The two players combined for seven double faults, but the Latvian’s 4-0 lead squandered was the highlight of disaster.

She began the third, holding serve against Alexandrova, and capped it off with a break of the eighth seed. Just when it looked as if she would build together another sizable lead, the 28-year-old answered. Despite fighting off breaks from the Latvian, Alexandrova played two breaks to deuce and broke back to get on the board. She went on to take the next three, setting off Ostapenko to scream out in anger.

Alexandrova continued her march, taking a 5-2 stand on the score and her opponent on the ropes. When it looked as if the eighth seed had the match locked up, Ostapenko went on to break her in the eighth. She dug in on serve and held the ninth, then scored the double break in a shutout. Serving Alexandrova to love gave Ostapenko the lead at 5-6, allowed her to carry the four-game streak and get a fifth to hold through for the match that took 2 hours and 47 minutes to finish.

Double faults were a major factor late for the two, but Alexandrova’s 11 in total gave the Latvian a clean run to victory. 269 points were divvied out, with the Latvian taking a small edge in what was a lopsided match from both sides of the court.