Ostapenko loses Wuhan semifinal in two tiebreaks

Latvian tennis player Jeļena Ostapenko (ranked 34th in the WTA rankings) lost her semifinal at the Wuhan tennis tournament, where she met Britain's Sonay Kartal on Center Court. Kartal is currently ranked 170th in the world and once reached 44th. Both sets were decided by tiebreaks, and Ostapenko came out second in each: 6(9):7 and 6(5):7.

First set

Early on, Ostapenko earned two chances to break her opponent's serve, then held with an unreturnable serve to lead 1:0. In the fifth game she won every point on Kartal's serve to go up 4:1, as the British player kept hitting long. Ostapenko then failed to hold serve (4:2), and the score levelled at 5:5.

In the long 11th game, the Latvian created another break chance, but Kartal hit long. Ostapenko then dropped her serve, and the set stood at 6:6. In the tiebreak she came back from 1-3 to 3-3 and from 3-5 to 5-5. She also saved herself at 5-6 and 6-7, but missed two opportunities to win the set, and the tiebreak ended 9-11.

Second set

In the second set Ostapenko led 4:1, but the score became 4:4. She did not convert three set points, and in the tiebreak she made two errors (4-5, 4-6) and lost the final point with a shot out. She lost the set 6(5):7.

Other facts

The temperature during the match was around 28 degrees. The head-to-head record between the two players is now 1-2 in Kartal's favour. For reaching the Wuhan semifinal, Ostapenko earns US$197,000 in prize money and 390 ranking points. In the unofficial "live" version of the world rankings, the Latvian is currently 24th.