The former French Open winner Ostapenko did not get along with Maria’s unorthodox style of play at the beginning. The German stayed in the points for a long time with high running intensity, played the balls with an unpleasant backspin, Ostapenko often made a mistake. Maria quickly led 3-1, but slowly the Latvian (25) dosed her usual aggressive pace better and won three games in a row.
The decisive passage became a test of nerves
Both players stabilized on their own serve. When the score was 5:6 and the debut, Maria made a serious double mistake, then after 39 minutes Ostapenko won the first set with a forehand that whipped into the corner.
“I know it’s a tough opponent, she plays the balls very, very fast,” Maria analyzed her opponent before the game. The 34-year-old had already been able to analyze this closely during her double defeat at Wimbledon, and as usual she was tactically adjusted to the singles by her husband and trainer Charles-Edouard.
At the beginning of the second set, Ostapenko was unstoppable and led 3-0. But just like in her exhausting second-round victory against the Romanian Sorana Cirstea, Maria never gave up, fought her way back and took the serve from Ostapenko to make it 3:4. When the score was 4:5, Maria fended off the first two match points with her forehand and a return error from her opponent.
Ostapenko, who often has problems with consistency, got out of step. With a loud scream, Maria celebrated the break to 6: 5, her husband cheered in the stands with both fists – a little later she made the win of the second set perfect with zero.
The decisive passage became a test of nerves. Ostapenko started better again, but vacillated between the extremes. Maria came back again. With a score of 5: 4 and a break before, she served to win the match, Ostapenko equalized and tapped his forehead. Maria made the break again – and was finally allowed to cheer.