DUBAI:
Jelena Ostapenko
’s allout style of play, swinging and singeing, saw her blast past former world No. 1
Simona Halep
2-6, 7-6 (0), 6-0 to make the title round of the
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
. It was a match of a few twists and one definite turn. The fiery Latvian will play Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Russian advanced after her Czech opponent Marketa Vondrousova, who came through the qualifying field, having totalled six wins this week, pulled out of her semifinal with a right abductor injury.
For the first time this week Ostapenko, who has beaten Grand Slam champions in each of her outings in this WTA 500 Series event — Sophia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova and Halep — will be up against a player who hasn’t made the second week of a major in the singles draw.
On Friday, however, Ostapenko, who was faced with Halep’s characteristic solidity along with what appeared to be the tune of the evening, calls of ‘See-MooNaa, See-Moo-Naa’, had to dig deep. She tried to break free early in the second set. The powerful 24-year-old took a 3-0 lead, but the seasoned Halep pulled back to level scores.
“Playing a Grand Slam champion for the fourth match in a row is not easy,” Ostapenko argued. “I’m happy with the way I was fighting when things were not going my way. I felt a little bit exhausted in the beginning, I needed to get warmed-up maybe. My legs were not moving in the first set. That’s why I was missing. When I changed that, everything changed.”
Ostapenko didn’t put a foot wrong in the tie-break after Halep pushed the set into a shootout. She then stepped it up a notch in the decider, playing decisive first-strike
tennis
as the Romanian won just 11 points in the 21-minute third set.
Halep, a two-time champion here, ranked No. 23 now, said she just couldn’t find her game when she needed it to cross the finish line. “I lost focus a little bit,” the 30-year-old said. “Mentally, I stopped playing and didn’t make anything anymore. The focus was not there.”
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