Ostapenko knocks out world number one Muguruza at Wuhan Open

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Jelena Ostapenko captured her biggest win in the second half of the WTA season at the Wuhan Open Friday. The Latvian handed Garbine Muguruza her first loss as world number one in a three set battle which she won 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court at the Wuhan Optical Valley Tennis Centre. Ostapenko’s win over a world number one was massive to not only give her the best chance as the last seeded player, but move into the semifinals.

This was a third meeting between two back to back champions of the French Open. The world number one and 2016 champ had the Latvian’s number on two occasions that occurred in Rome each time. Ostapenko did give the Spaniard a three-set thriller this season, but despite losing went on to win her first slam at Roland Garros.

The path to the quarterfinal hasn’t been easy for the 23-year-old as she battled a left leg issue and a tough outing against Magda Linette Wednesday. The 20-year-old hasn’t had a break whatsoever in her last two matches that went the distance. With both vying for another championship, the two superstars of the sport would be at each other for as long as it took for one of them to win.

Muguruza took point on capturing the first break opportunity after they both held one another on serve. She made a clear statement in the fourth holding Ostapenko to nil in the game that kept the idea of the Spaniard’s will to play like a world number one. The young Latvian didn’t let the notion slip her mind and fought on serve to keep things tight.

The battle went to deuce where after a few breaks, two consecutive double faults from the 20-year-old gave Muguruza a much bigger lead. Ostapenko decided to take a chat with coach Anabel Medina Garrigues who asked her to adjust a few parts of her game to compete harder. It was tough to do so with Muguruza playing in fine form to gain a 5-1 hold with considerable ease.

Despite the dismal second serve, the world number one stayed focused in the seventh to gain two set points and win it on a shot that fooled Ostapenko to move the other way. It was a set that didn’t go as well as many hoped as it finished in 34 minutes with Ostapenko committing 15 unforced errors and a serve percentage slightly above 40 percent. The return game needed serious work as she won points on 4 of 17 in the set.

The Latvian star struck back to begin the second with a break of Muguruza but still frustrated with her own serve that couldn’t hold together. With both leveled, Muguruza went for the push forward where she found Ostapenko playing aggressively for the first time in the match. She forced deuce with the Spaniard who blew five game point chances to earn the victory and the lead.

Ostapenko was a mission to dictate the set and moved up the score with a serve to love on the number one seed wanting to widen the gap. Muguruza didn’t help her wishes as she got herself back within a game. The next two games saw the players get into dramatic rallies for the point. When seven games were in the books, Ostapenko was still the frontrunner which led her and Muguruza to take conference calls with their coaches.

Just when it looked as if the world number one would get the break on her Latvian adversary, the 20-year-old struck into contention to hang on and take a big 5-3 lead for a chance to induct a third set. She reached double set point where a line drive on the fourth shot clinched it for the 2017 French Open champion to go the distance against the best after 43 minutes. Despite having more unforced errors and winners, the Latvian clearly gave herself a chance to pull off the upset and go for more points. Muguruza took a medical timeout during the break to get her upper left leg re-taped in order to continue playing.

She struggled for the break in the third but captured it followed by a hold of serve in the next game. In her attempts to stay in contention, Ostapenko broke Muguruza in the fourth to level the score and made an important hold of her own to once again be back in the lead. During the break, Muguruza complained to coach Sam Sumyk of her inability to play against the fast returns in the rallies of the 20-year-old.

Ostapenko kept up the strategy that gave her a two-game margin on the top seed which led her to a 5-2 hold with the best chance to end things. Muguruza had the ball in hands to save the match from ending but errors and fight off the 20-year-old was much harder than thought. She handed Ostapenko match point opportunities in which the second chance knocked out the world number one with a sliced winner to end the 1 hour and 57-minute thriller.

“I just the number one player and it’s amazing,” Ostapenko said after the match. “Today was a long day, and the time to wait was long so it was a little bit difficult to come out. She played really well to start but the second set there were some deciding games and still playing aggressive trying to play my game and it turned my way.”

She’ll hope to have a better outcome against Ashleigh Barty on Saturday in the semifinals which will determine where the path goes for the Latvian.

Muguruza edges out win at Wuhan Open over Linette

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Garbine Muguruza had another hard night at the Wuhan Open but came out victorious in the third round. Magda Linette put on a great fight for three long sets that included a near bagel against the number one but ended in a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win for the Spaniard on Centre Court at the Wuhan Optical Valley Tennis Centre.  

The world number one had some issues come up with her left leg but kept the match in straight sets against Lesya Tsurenko Tuesday evening. The 23-year-old completed his first match since Tokyo and wanted nothing better than to increase her points margin in the WTA rankings. Although both have competed against one another, the players haven’t dropped a set meaning that one would assuredly have the chance to stay that way.

Muguruza took off after they both held serve in the opening set getting the two-game edge on her Polish adversary. Linette reached deep on her next service game and locked down a win that kept her within reach of the world number one. Muguruza held her own pace locking down another service hold before getting back to breaking Linette for another step ahead on the score.

On serve for the set, the top seed pressured Linette into running all over for the ball getting the set in the books after 32 minutes. Muguruza dropped just three points on all her serves giving the notion of her well-rounded service game that sat in the mid 80s with ten winners and three unforced errors.

In her attempts to break Linette, the Spaniard put too much emphasis on a smash that fell long of the baseline allowing her opponent to secure the service game. She nearly consolidated the victory with a break of Muguruza but errors helped get the Spaniard back in for a chance to hang on with the ball in possession. She got to deuce but couldn’t do much after the break which handed Linette her first lead of the match.

The margin became a size of comfort for her as she gained three games on Muguruza who racked up the unforced errors significantly. Two more were brought into Linette’s score as she cruised while the world number one had all sorts of trouble. Though she avoided the bagel in the sixth, the Spaniard accepted throwing out the chance to fight back in the set and give it her all in the decider. It took Linette 32 minutes to get one of her best performances against a number one player but she was not out of the woods yet for victory.

The third saw Muguruza wake her game up, shaking off the problems before gaining a hold of some kind. She gained a break along the way that helped her regain control of a lead and remain that way after six games had elapsed. Linette got a break on the Spaniard in the seventh that reeled her opponent in close with the match very close so its conclusion. Muguruza made her pay for the break as she added one herself to sit up 5-3 with a chance to serve for the match.

Just when it looked as if she would get it done, the errors rushed back in time to save Linette. Muguruza either hit the ball long or returned it wide before setting up a double fault that gave the Polish player light at the end of the tunnel. It was just another break in favor of the world number 83 to get her serve on lock and deliver the pressure to Muguruza instead. She was well into it fighting back hard to prevent the set going any longer as it surpassed the two-hour mark. The world number one reached deuce on her serve and got the victory done in what was clearly a tough match.

“I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Muguruza said. “She had a very good moment in the second set but that didn’t disturb me to keep going.” She’ll take on reigning French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko Thursday night in a third meeting. “It’s gonna be difficult playing her,” she added. “She’s very good, young and motivated but I’m gonna give everything I have to battle.”

Barty out duels Radwanska at Wuhan Open

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Agnieszka Radwanska’s game was challenged from start to finish at the Wuhan Open Wednesday afternoon. Ashleigh Barty took it to her hard with aggression, skill and some tricks along the way that gave her the 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory on Center Court at the Wuhan Optical Valley Tennis Centre. The 21 year old not only gained a spot in the semifinals but also captured her first win over a top 20 player this season.

The Australian put together a well performed defeat of Johanna Konta Monday in position to vie for another chance at upsetting strong contenders. The ninth seed hasn’t been at her complete best but has managed to not drop a set in her two recent victories. While neither have faced each other before, the 21-year-old would give the Polish superstar everything on court in order to move forward in what has become a strong debut in the tournament.

Both opened with holds of serve but the first to make a break for it was Barty who earned free points on Radwanska’s unforced errors. It gave her a 3-1 stance but the warm up of the Polish star got the 28-year-old back on track and into motion with a three-game winning streak. Barty brought an end to her opponent’s fun with an important hold in the eighth to level the score.

The response was tough from Radwanska as she brushed off the force from Barty and reached the chance for the set with Barty on serve. Radwanska delivered big hits on the returns that spoiled any further shots for the Aussie to strike back and put her name in stone to complete 45 minutes. She only had four unforced errors in the set with the service in good form to continue on with her skills.

During the break, Barty’s coach came out to let his athlete know it wasn’t over and that plenty of time was available for her to counteract the match. She did exactly that breaking Radwanska twice to dictate the second set more than she expected. The young Aussie took the next three quickly to get a well-deserved bagel that was completed in 26 minutes. Nine times out of ten, the set would have been in the hands of the ninth seed but her sudden downfall on the first and second serve made it an easy break forward for Barty to force the deciding set with force. She landed 88 percent on the first serve and 83 on the second landing 11 winners in the process.

Barty’s winning streak increased to seven straight to begin the third with a fourth consecutive break. Radwanska came alive in the second game where she not only earned the break but let everyone see she was not out of it yet to end the lengthened tail spin. The fight was still a difficult one for the ninth seed as she struggled with Barty who was on a mission to get the upset in writing. She held off a surge from Radwanska who forced deuce in the sixth but an unforced error opened the door for Barty to walk through and slam shut for another step in the right direction.

A key hold for Radwanska kept her close to the Australian but the momentum was well in her favor as she showed tremendous confidence in her game that set her up for match point opportunities with the ninth seed on the edge. A much-needed service game came from Radwanska earning the shutout with great winners across court that had her hopes alive but hanging by a thread.

Barty came out aggressive at first and put control first and foremost with two consecutive aces followed by a winner. All the hard work was erased by an error that forced deuce with Radwanska who made every attempt to stay solid on the returns. Barty put her backhand to work at times where after three breaks, the final rally ended dramatically to give the Australian a big win and her first top 20 upset that took 1 hour and 57 minutes to pull off.

“I think my serve was very important today and I needed to look after my service game so I could do a few runs in her games but very happy to play well today and look forward to the next match,” Barty said after the match. She’ll hope to get closer to a second title this season but her quarterfinal opponent between Karolina Pliskova and Qiang Wang would take place Thursday.