The biggest surprise of Day 4 of the Aegon Classic was the loss by two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The fierce 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko had an answer for everything that Kvitova threw at her today and eventually prevailed in a 3-set shocker on the big stage in the Aegon Classic.
Ostapenko’s love for the grass
As much as this was a surprise result because of Kvitova’s ability to overwhelm many of her opponents on a grass court, it is also worth noting that Ostapenko really does enjoy playing on the grass courts. The Latvian made her Top 40 debut by virtue of making the Doha final earlier this year, losing to Carla Suarez Navarro in the final. Ostapenko believes her game works perfectly on the grass surface. She indicated that her very good serve was one of the key reasons to her great grass court success as a junior and now as a professional.
“Yeah, I mean since juniors, I think I did well on grass. Its first time here but I really like it here. I think grass is my favorite surface, so I’m looking forward to two more tournaments. I think I can do good on grass. I have good serve and good backhand and forehand, so for grass, I think it’s good.”
Ostapenko’s notable results have mainly come on this surface. Her first Grand Slam main draw win came at Wimbledon last year when she beat Carla Suarez-Navarro in the first round. In addition to this she has proven her attributes on this surface when she beat Kristina Schmiedlova in the Wimbledon Juniors final in 2014.
Kvitova reflects on her week in Birmingham
Petra Kvitova was very gracious in defeat and commented on how well her opponent played today.
“Yeah, I felt like when she broke my serve – before when she lost her serve, I think she was kind of more dangerous afterwards. I felt like she’s going more for the points more. She’s playing more aggressive than she was before and I was just reacting. Unfortunately, I think she played better on the key points then in the third (set) It was difficult to still be there and putting the pressure on her. She was pushing me a lot.”
Wickmayer survives a long battle with Wozniacki
In a match that was supposed to finish on Tuesday, but continued into Day 4 of the Aegon Classic, Yanina Wickmayer, who has been in tennis obscurity and never really followed up her success at the 2009 US Open where she made the semifinals, edged a 6-4 6-7 6-2 match with the former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Wickmayer was one of the leading voices in pushing for the match to be suspended in the dark hours of Wednesday afternoon, as she was struggling with injury after a nasty fall.
This is a big win for Wickmayer, one that could increase her confidence knowing that she can survive these types of matches even without the match play that she is in search for. Wozniacki, on the other hand, will be making her way to Eastbourne earlier than planned.
The Danish tennis star was asked whether she had any specific goals or targets lined up for Wimbledon following an ankle injury that kept her off tour for months. She responded:
“My target is always to win. So if you ask me about a target, it is to win. Right now it’s just one match at a time and play well.”
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