|
Jelena Ostapenko earned a stunning victory over two-time former champion Simona Halep to reach the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday, and will play Veronika Kudermetova who received a walkover when Marketa Vondrousova forfeited her semi-final due to a right adductor injury.
Ostapenko had previously won just two matches in her previous five appearances in Dubai, but the 2017 French Open winner has now overcome four other former Grand Slam champions this week, beating Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek and Petra Kvitova before claiming a comeback 2-6 7-6 6-0 win over Halep. Former world number one Romanian had seemed to be in control as she comfortably took the first set, surrendering just five points on serve and closing out the set with an ace. Ostapenko responded by reducing her errors, becoming more aggressive and taking a 3-0 lead in the second set, and although Halep managed to level at 3-3 Ostapenko continued to raise her level. With Ostapenko leading 6-5, Halep was forced to save two set points on her serve as the set went to a tiebreak, which the 24-year-old Latvian astonishingly took 7-0 before then sweeping the final set 6-0 in just 21 minutes as Halep crumpled in the face of Ostapenko's confident assault. The result puts Ostapenko into her 11th career final, sixth at WTA 500 level or above, and third in the past nine months after a title run in Eastbourne and a runner-up showing in Luxembourg last year. No.31-ranked Kudermetova will contest her fourth career final and third at WTA 500 level or above. She holds a 1-3 record in title matches compared to Ostapenko's 4-6 record. (ANI)
|
