Defending Eastbourne champion Jelena Ostapenko insisted she knew it would be a tough battle against Ajla Tomljanovic as she believes the Australian is a good player.Ā
On Tuesday, eighth-seeded Ostapenko kicked off her campaign in Eastbourne with a 6-4 victory over Tomljanovic.Ā
Ostapenko had a first round bye in Eastbourne and now she she been through to the last-16 following her victory over Tomljanovic.Ā
“She’s a good player and I knew it was going to be a tough battle. Some moments, I didn’t feel comfortable, but then I managed to win the match. It’s great to be back, and I’m happy to be back here,” Ostapenko said after the win, as quoted on the WTA website. “I was just trying to not miss any balls and put more balls in play, but also still to stay aggressive. I felt like, in some moments, balls that I shouldn’t miss, I missed. I’m just glad I managed to win.”Ā
Ostapenko handles Tomljanovic in straight sets
Ostapenko made a slow start to the match as Tomljanovic earned the first break of the match in the fifth game and served out the next game to open a 4-2 lead.Ā
Down by a break, Ostapenko started playing much better as she claimed back-to-back breaks in the eighth and 10th games to completely overturn the deficit and win the first set.
After losing the first set, Tomljanovic broke Ostapenko in the opening game of the second set.Ā
However, Tomljanovic’s lead was short-lived as Ostapenko broke back in the second game to level the set to one game apiece.
After recovering from an early second set break, Ostapenko broke Tomljanovic again in the 10th game – when the Australian was serving to stay in the match.
Ostapenko, who lifted her maiden Eastbourne title last year, plays next American tennis star Madison Keys.
Ostapenko will be looking for her first win over Keys when they meet as the American has a 2-0 head-to-head versus the Latvian.Ā