Ostapenko fights back to reach quarter-finals again

Jelena Ostapenko
Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in action during the fourth round match against Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Reuters

London: Twelfth seed Jelena Ostapenko came back from 5-2 down to crush Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-6(4) 6-0 and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the second year running on Monday.

The 21-year-old Latvian former French Open champion looked in trouble with her Belarusian opponent racing into a 5-2 lead after delivering a superb lob.

However, Ostapenko then seemed stung into action by a warning for coaching and reeled off four games to turn the tables, winning the set in 56 minutes.

Sasnovich, who upset eighth seed Petra Kvitova in the opening round, won one more game to send the set into a tiebreak which she lost 7-4 on a double fault.

Ostapenko, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, clinched the set in 56 minutes then took half that time to win the second as Sasnovich's game deserted her.

Sasnovich, 24, saved four break points in the fourth game of the second set, her last stand, but could not hold.

Ostapenko proved too strong in the end and will be favoured in her quarter-final to beat Dominika Cibulkova, one of a record nine unseeded players to reach the fourth round since the number of seeds was increased to 32 in 2001.

Slovakian Cibulkova ended Su-Wei Hsieh's run after the Taiwanese had upset top seed Simona Halep. Only one of the top 10 women reached the fourth round for the first time in the Open era.

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