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[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-microphone”] Match Recap from Announcer Andy Taylor, Voice of the Qatar Total Open
Jelena Ostapenko advances to Round-2
2016 Doha Finalist Jelena Ostapenko escaped with this one. Statistically, Teichmann was the better player. The 22-year-old Swiss was better on both serve and return. Timing made all the difference. Both ended the match with seven breaks. Ostapenko simply converted when it mattered most – at the tail-end of the first and third sets.
As has been the case over the past two season, Jelena’s kryptonite is the first serve. If she can consistently get it back up over 65% – like she did in set-3 – she’s a far more lethal opponent.
Since her Cinderella Doha run in 2016, Jelena has enjoyed tremendous success on this court. That year, as an 18-year-old ranked outside the top-80 – she upset World #8 Petra Kvitova en route to her first Premier-5 Final. She skipped Doha in 2017, but returned a year later to win the doubles title with Gabriella Dabrowski. Last year, she reached the doubles Semifinals with Veronika Kudermetova.
Grand Slam Singles Champion turned Doubles Authority
Since defeating Simona Halep to win her debut Major at Roland Garros three years ago, Jelena hasn’t exactly turned her fearless teens into Singles consistency. At one point she dropped outside the top-80, yet still finds herself making deep runs in Doubles.
No doubt, this week Jelena hopes to rekindle the unflinching confidence that earned her legions of fans on this court 4-years-ago. However, should her Singles run end early – she and Dabrowski have reunited, looking to repeat their inspired run in 2018.
Head to Head: First meeting between these two players
Day-1. Updated Singles Draw
[/alert]Day-1. Updated Doubles Draw
[/alert]Jelena Ostapenko -42- (LAT) | Round-1 Announcer Introduction
4-years-ago, in her first-ever Premier-5 event on Tour, she made her Doha debut as an 88th-ranked 18-year-old – and was unstoppable – upseting World #8 Petra Kvitova en-route to the championship match. Since then, she’s assembled quite a resume. In 2017, she won the French Open – becoming the first Latvian ever to win a Grand Slam title. And a year later, cracked the WTA’s top-5 for the first time. Now an 8-time Tour-level Finalist, she owns 3 WTA Singles titles – and 2-years-ago, captured her 3rd WTA Doubles title on this court with partner Gabriela Dabrowski. Back in Doha, where the magic began – competing in her 4th Qatar Total Open – From Latvia, please welcome 2016 Finalist and 2018 Doubles Champion, Jelena Ostapenko.
- R1 — W | [Q] Jil Teichmann -68- (SUI) | Score: 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
Announcer Corner | Doha: Jelena Ostapenko
Some would say the wheels came off for Jelena Ostapenko when, as the returning Roland Garros Champion, she fell in Round-1 of the 2018 French Open. Though she went on to reach the Wimbledon Semifinals, that was her last deep-run at the Majors — in Singles.
In 2019, she was a 2-time Doubles Quarterfinalist at the French and US Opens, and teamed with Robert Lindstet to reach the Mixed Doubles Championship at Wimbledon. While her Singles ranking dropped outside the top-80 last year, she’s managed to climb inside the top-20 in Doubles. That focus on net tactics could pay dividends in the new season. Earlier this month – she upset Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin during Latvia’s World Group Qualifier. Stay tuned.
[Q] Jil Teichmann -68- (SUI) | Round-1 Announcer Introduction
Here in Doha for the first time, this 22-year-old Southpaw captured her first 2 WTA Singles last year on clay. In May, as a qualifier, she won 8 consecutive matches to win her first title in Prague. Two months later, she won the Palermo Ladies Open in Italy, upsetting World #5 Kiki Bertens in the Championship match. And last month, at home in Switzerland, she earned the Tie-clinching victory over Team Canada – lifting her country to the 2020 Fed Cup Finals this April in Budpest. With two straight-sets qualifying victories on Friday and Saturday – tonight, she is making her Doha main-draw debut. From Switzerland, please welcome Jil Teichmann.
- R1 — L | Jelena Ostapenko -42- (LAT) | Score: 5-7, 6-2, 5-7
- Q2 — W | Margarita Gasparyan -109- (RUS) | Score: 6-3, 6-4 | RECAP
- Q1 — W | Jana Cepelova -163- (SVK) | Score: 7-5, 6-2 | RECAP
Announcer Corner | Doha: Jil Teichmann
Jil Teichmann’s only other Premier-5 main draw appearance came in 2017. At the time, she was a 20-year-old Wild Card ranked World #170, and upset World #44 Sam Stosur in Wuhan’s opening round.
