Ostapenko survives battling Schiavone test

She will next meet China's Duan Yingying who overcame Colombia's Mariana Duque -Marino in straight sets.

Published : Jan 15, 2018 09:09 IST , Melbourne

Ostapenko took the match 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes.
Ostapenko took the match 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes.
lightbox-info

Ostapenko took the match 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes.

French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko survived a second-set scare from corset-wearing Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone to get her Australian Open campaign off to winning start on Monday.

World number seven Ostapenko raced through the first set on Rod Laver Arena against the 2010 Roland Garros winner 6-1.

But she found herself 4-1 down in the second to the world number 93 who was bizarrely wearing a weightlifter-style back brace over her tennis top.

The big-hitting Latvian soon found her range again and hit back with two breaks of the Schiavone serve, the second achieved with a trademark forehand winner.

Ostapenko then served out with no further alarms to take the match 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes.

"Second set I was missing a little bit but I managed to get through," said Ostapenko, who was recording her maiden match victory of 2018 having lost in the first rounds at both the Shenzhen and Sydney warm-up events.

She will next meet China's Duan Yingying who overcame Colombia's Mariana Duque -Marino in straight sets.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment