WTA Indian Wells: Who do we see in the semifinals - the good or the bad Jelena Ostapenko?
Jelena Ostapenko's playing is usually subject to great fluctuations. At the WTA Tour 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, things are going very well again for the 24-year-old French Open winner from 2017.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 15, 2021, 02:24 pm
Before a game against Fabio Fognini, Philipp Kohlschreiber once remarked that you never know what to expect from the Italian: the good Fabio or the bad. In recent years, the fluctuations at Fognini have reduced a little, the Masters title in Monte Carlo 2019 has flanked the onset of a certain age wisdom. In terms of play, Jelena Ostapenko has pretty much nothing in common with Fabio Fognini - except maybe that: Even with her, the opponent never knows what she will get.
In Indian Wells this is absolute top tennis these days, as not only Iga Swiatek, one of Ostapenko's successors as the French Open winner, felt. Ostapenko also beat Shelby Rogers (winner against industry leader Ashleigh Barty at the US Open) and Yulia Putintseva during the tournament. And also reached the semi-finals in doubles with partner Lyudmila Kichenok. There, however, it was over against Elena Rybakina and Veronika Kudermetova.
Azarenka has already been successful twice in Indian Wells
It would be more important to advance in the singles, with Victoria Azarenka, a player who, like Ostapenko, has already been successful in a major. Azarenka's favorite tournament in terms of success is the Australian Open, which she won in 2012 and 2013. Last year, after a four-and-a-half year dry spell, Azarenka finally got another title, she won the preparatory tournament for the US Open, which was moved from Cincinnati to New York (Naomi Osaka, however, could not compete in the final). Azarenka holds a total of 21 titles, two of which she won in Indian Wells (2012 and 2016).
Ostapenko meanwhile only has four. After her coup in Roland Garros in 2017, the Latvian was able to succeed in Seoul, Luxembourg and this year in Eastbourne. So the underground doesn't seem to play a role - if Jelena Ostapenko feels herself, she can win on all surfaces. In Indian Wells it could work out with the second biggest title of her career, also with regard to the possible final opponents. Because neither Ons Jabeur nor Paula Badosa have won an event the size of Indian Wells, while Ostapenko and Azarenka have already achieved a level higher.
Here the single tableau in Indian Wells
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