STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) -Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko powered into the Stuttgart Grand Prix final on Sunday with a 6-4 6-4 victory over fellow unseeded player Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The 27-year-old will meet either world number one Aryna Sabalenka or Italian Jasmine Paolini, who ousted fourth seed Coco Gauff in the previous round, in Monday’s final.
Ostapenko, who stunned five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the last eight to improve her lifetime mark to 6-0 against the Pole, got off to a strong start with a break in the first game.
She was broken straight back but earned another one quickly to go 4-2 up.
Alexandrova, who upset sixth seed Mirra Andreeva and world number three Jessica Pegula at the tournament to take her tally to five top-10 wins during the season, struggled with her opponent’s thundering groundstrokes, and especially her forehand.
“I don’t know but I feel amazing playing here,” Ostapenko said. “So pumped up. Those kinds of matches, winning three sets, gives you confidence,” she said of her win over Swiatek in the previous round.
“I was putting a lot of balls in. I am very happy with myself.”
A finalist in Qatar this year, Ostapenko kept up the pressure and cruised to victory after an early break in the second set.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)
Comments