The Latvian smashed four aces, recorded 80% and 78% on the first and second serves respectively, and returned all five available break points to mark a dominant win.
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Jelena Ostapenko brought her absolute best to Stuttgart on Tuesday as she absolute destroyed Emma Raducanu 6-2, 6-1 in the round of 32. The Latvian smashed four aces, recorded 80% and 78% on the first and second serves respectively, and returned all five available break points to mark a dominant win. “I knew against her the main thing was to step in the court,” Ostapenko said. “Of course, I missed some balls but I tried to be aggressive all the time when it was possible. Just try to take the ball early, don’t give her many chances. And finally, I’m back on clay, my favorite surface.”
“Probably [need] to bring back this fearlessness, but of course it’s tougher when you get older. You start to think more and of course you want to play better and more consistently,” the Latvian added later in the interview.
The loss must have been quite damaging to Raducanu’s confidence as she had not made any mark this season so far. She played in the Miami Open last and was ousted after her very first match against Canadian Bianca Andreescu. She suffered a second round exit at the Australian Open earlier this year where she was beaten by Coco Gauff.
The turn of fortune was kinder for Paula Badosa who finally caught a break this season as she beat seventh seed Daria Kasatkina in the last 32 at Stuttgart. Badosa recorded three aces and registered 75% and 53% on the first and second serves respectively to take a famous 6-1, 6-1 win over one of the best in the world today. She also returned five out of nine break points.
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Speaking about her ambitions after the match, Badosa revealed that her goal was to get into the WTA top three in the world. “That’s what I’m working on every day. That’s one of my goals — I want to be back on the top. I like to play big matches, I like to be in the last rounds of the tournaments. I still know I have that level. I still know I was that player. I still believe in myself, and I hope I’m back there very soon.”
Anastasia Potapova held on to take a fantastic victory against Petra Martic in the round of 32 at Stuttgart after a thriller of a contest between the day. The match ended with the Russian winning 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4) as she recorded two aces and returned five out of 12 break points.
Tatjana Maria was also involved in a tight clash against Ylena In-Albon which the German won 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4). Maria smashed eight aces and returned two out of three break points for the win. She also recorded 76% ad 52% on the first and second serves respectively.
