Ostapenko and Hsieh score confident doubles win in Cincinnati
Latvian tennis player Jelena Ostapenko, partnering Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei, won their first-round doubles match at the Cincinnati WTA 1000 tournament. Their next opponent will be one of two international pairs.
Latvian tennis player Jelena Ostapenko and her Taiwanese partner Hsieh Su-wei celebrated a confident first-round doubles victory at the Cincinnati "WTA 1000" tournament on Sunday.
Seeded fifth in the doubles draw, the Latvian-Taiwanese pair defeated an international duo made up of Slovakia's Tereza Mihalikova and Britain's Olivia Nicholls. The match finished 7-6 (7:2), 6-3 in favor of Ostapenko and Hsieh.
The win earned Ostapenko 120 WTA ranking points.
Next opponent still undecided
In the second round, Ostapenko and Hsieh will face the winner of another international pairing — either Slovenia's Andreja Klepac and Britain's Maia Lumsden, or the Czech-Russian duo of Anastasia Dețiuc and Irina Khromacheva.
Singles disappointment
Ostapenko's success has not carried over to singles competition. Currently ranked 30th in the world and seeded 26th at the tournament, the Latvian lost her second-round singles match to Poland's Magdalena Frech, who is ranked 41st. Ostapenko was beaten 1-6, 3-6.
The Cincinnati tournament is being played on hard courts and continues through next Sunday.
