Ostapenko Seeded First in Seoul Tournament Draw
Latvian tennis player Jeļena Ostapenko has been seeded first at the Seoul tournament and will open her campaign against Russia's Anastasia Zakharova.
The draw for the Seoul tournament has revealed that Latvian tennis player Jeļena Ostapenko, currently ranked 32nd in the world, has been seeded first. In the opening round she will face Anastasia Zakharova, who is ranked 109th.
Ostapenko and Zakharova have met only once before, in February at the Doha tournament, where the Latvian won 6:7, 6:3, 6:4.
Should Ostapenko advance past the first round, her potential second-round opponent will be either Australia's Talia Preston, currently ranked 92nd, or Japan's Himeno Sakatsume, ranked 115th.
In the third round, which also serves as the tournament's quarterfinal stage, Ostapenko's most likely opponent would be Poland's Magda Linette, ranked 74th in the world.
Notably, Ostapenko had not originally planned to compete in Seoul but later decided to accept a special wild-card invitation from the organizers. The Latvian athlete has already arrived at the tournament venue to prepare for her upcoming matches. The main draw is set to begin on September 21.
