Ostapenko wraps up victory in the midnight hour

The top three seeds have all reached the Friday quarter-finals of the WTA Linz event, with No. 1 Jelena Ostapenko concluding a post-midnight finish to book her spot..

The Latvian winner of last month’s Adelaide title got past Danish teen Clara Tauson 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7).

“I wasn’t in my best shape, I only arrived from Australia on Wednesday,” the world No.12 winner and 2019 finalist here said.  “But I’m very proud that I fought to the last point.” 

With second seed  Ekaterina Alexandrova already in place, holder and fifth-seeded Anastasia Potapova lined up as her opposition through a 2-6, 7-6 (9), 7-5 win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

Potapova  had a built-in security blanket on hand in the form of her pet poodle Baby who joined her at her chair during changeovers.

Croat Donna Vekic, seeded third and playing at her seventh Linz edition, put out Australian Open semi-finalist Dayana Yastremska 6-1, 6-1, with the Ukrainian badly affected by jet lag after arriving from Melbourne.

“It wasn’t as easy as the result suggests,” the winner said, “There were a lot of very close games.”

 Added Yastremska: “I’m pretty drained and tired, I’ve played a lot in the last few weeks.

“Today, I really had no energy left, I left everything on the court. This year has gone really well for me so far, but now I really need a break.”