WTA Elite Trophy: Ostapenko remains in contention, Vekic eliminated

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko remains in contention with a chance to reach the semi-finals of the WTA Elite Trophy, the second-tier season-ending event for the women’s tour. The Latvian, ranked 13th in the world, remains alive in Group C following her three-set victory over Croatia’s Donna Vekic (4-6, 6-4, 6-1) in Zhuhai on Thursday.

The latter, who had already lost in three sets on Wednesday to Qinwen Zheng, is now eliminated from the tournament after losing both her matches in the group stage.

At the end of 1 hour and 57 minutes of a great battle, it was Ostapenko’s speed and power (37 winners, 31 unforced errors) that were rewarded.

Even her lack of first serve points in the deciding set (44 percent) did not cause her any problems as she was in total control once she got into the match, winning seven games in a row from 4-4 in the second set and eight of the last nine games of the match. Vekic had battled hard against Zheng the previous day and it showed (22 winners, 30 unforced errors) in the final stretch against Ostapenko.

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