Latvian tennis player Alona Ostapenko together with Ukrainian Ludmila Kičenok won the second match of the Australian Open Championship on Saturday. Ostapenko and Kichenok were sown with number 13 and beat the Romanian duo Andre Mitu / Raluka Olar 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 on Saturday.
Starting with an easy victory in the first game, serving Ostapenko, the Latvian / Ukrainian duo was forced to play three breakballs in the third game, but like the next four games, they won. In the fourth game the third break ball was realized, but in the sixth – the second break ball. In turn, the seventh game was served by Kichenok “dry” – 6-1. In the second set, Kichenok and Ostapenko lost their serving games twice. In the second game, the duo remained “dry”, serving Ostapenko, in the fourth managed to play only one of two consecutive breakballs. This set was also completed with a “dry” game, only for the benefit of the opponents.
In the third set, the longer games turned out to be three. In the first, Ostapenko and Kičenok, being served a Latvian tennis player, were forced to play one break ball to win. After winning the second game for the second time in the set, serving Olara, the Latvian / Ukrainian couple managed to score a point in the sixth game, but this point was already much harder. However, the second break was 5-1. Seta’s longest game was the last, in which Kichenoka, who served, first played two breakballs with Ostapenko, but then scored with the second match ball – 6-1, 1-6, 6-1.
The winners managed seven elusive services, while the opponents had only two. In addition, there were five double mistakes against the Romanian pair’s seven. Both duos gave the opponents seven breakballs, of which the winners managed to win four, while the opponents – two. Combinations with a point gain were also better completed by the winners (22 wins against 13 opponents). Latvian and Ukrainian tennis players scored 80 points in the game, but opponents by 11 less. With this victory, each of the tennis players in Melbourne has already earned 240 world ranking points.
In the eighth final, Ostapenko / Kichenok will meet with the tournament fourth pair Nicholas Melcher (USA) / Demi Shurs (Netherlands). In the first round, their opponents Fiona Fero from France and Gilles Teihmane withdrew after five games, but in the second round the US / Dutch duo defeated Vera Lapko from Belarus and Marketa Vondroušova from the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4
It has already been reported that in the first round of the singles tournament on Tuesday, Ostapenko conceded 5-7, 2-6 with Czech Karolina Muhova, earning ten points for the world rank. Ostapenko in Melbourne also plans to take part in a mixed doubles match with Matvi Midelkopka from the Netherlands. In the first fight, the eighth duo of the tournament from Brazil Luiz Stefani / Brunu Soaress was drawn in the opponents
On Wednesday, the competition ended in the first round of doubles. the second racket Anastasia Sevastova together with the Russian tennis player Anastasia Pavluchenko, who with 3-6, 6-2, 3-6 gave in to the 11th numbered Chinese Jifan Su and Joao Yuan in the tournament. For the loss in the first round, Sevastova received ten world doubles ranking points. In the first round, Sevastova lost to Estonian Kaija Kanepi in the first round with 3-6, 1-6, earning ten points in the world rankings.
The qualifying for the Australian Open this year due to Covid-19 took place in Doha and Dubai. The main tournament in Melbourne is scheduled for February 21. The competition usually takes place in January, but this year it was postponed three weeks later due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, Novak Djokovic from Serbia celebrated the victory in the men’s competition, but the best among the ladies was Sofia Kenina from the USA.
