Friday 21 January 2022

2022 AO 3R - Krejcikova d Ostapenko

Barbora Krejcikova (4) (Czech Republic) v Jelena Ostapenko (26) (Latvia)

Battle of two Roland Garros champions, Ostapenko (2017) and Krejcikova (2021).
Krejcikova’s AO main draw record before this year: second round losses in 2020 and 2021.
Ostapenko’s best AO efforts were third round appearances in 2017, 2018.

Ostapenko won two of the three previous meetings, but they were both in 2015, Krejcikova won the recent match - second round Dubai, 2021.
Ostapenko served first.
Both players were taken to deuce before holding serve in their opening games at the line. 1-1.

Ostapenko survived seven deuces and three break points to hold serve and lead 2-1. About twenty minutes for three games.
Krejcikova faced three break points after double faulting and receiving an Ostapenko backhand winner. The fourth seed could only save one, and Ostapenko broke for 3-1.
Consolidation followed, sealed with an ace. 

Krejcikova, serving at 2-5 and 15-15, failed twice with her forehand, giving Ostapenko two set points. One saved with a service winner.
But Ostapenko won the set 6-2, when she pulled out a backhand winner. 

In the fourth game of set two, Ostapenko hit four forehand winners, including one on the second of two break points, and she led 3-1.
Against the run of play, Krejcikova broke back immediately, and kept the match alive.

Dramatically Krejcikova broke again, to love, and she would serve for the set at 5-4.
The fourth seed raced through the game, the last two points a service winner and an ace, finishing the set 6-4.

Krejcikova broke the Ostapenko serve in the opening game of the decider, then saved a break point when serving the next game.
She led 2-0.
Krejcikova saved break back points in the fourth and eighth games, and led 5-3.
She served for the match at 5-4.

It took a few goes, but on the third match point Barbora Krejcikova won the contest 2-6 6-4 6-4.

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