St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, Russia

[22] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) vs. [44] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)

Both players are former top ten players, and both are struggling to find the form that saw them reach such lofty heights. Ostapenko is a former French Open champion but since then she has not played like a major champion.

Ostapenko has always struggled with her serve and when it goes, every other aspect of her game suffers. Mladenovic has just been struggling since her injury with confidence. Yet, this is the beginning of a new season and both are searching desperately for something positive to build on.

This was Ostapenko’s fourth match this season and she had lost all previous three matches. She started off the match red-hot and then cooled off significantly because her serve went away and the double faults piled up. As her frustration mounted, she tried hitting the ball harder and harder without any real sense of purpose and they all went long. The second set was a complete disaster for the Latvian, she did not win a game.

Mladenovic’s recent match win percentage was only slightly better than Ostapenko and like the Latvian, she too had lost all three previous matches she played this year. The French woman got off to a slow start; yet, she seemed to find her game in the second set, and it appeared all the momentum had shifted to her side of the net. However, never underestimate the will of Ostapenko.

Still struggling with her serve, the Latvian fought off the break points against her serve early in the third set and then focused all her attention on breaking Mladenovic three times to win the third set without losing a game. It was a rather strange match; neither player played their best at the same time and the lack of confidence was more apparent in the game of the French woman.

Ostapenko won 6-1, 0-6, 6-0.

SOURCE OF IMAGE: Zimbio.com (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images AsiaPac: Jelena Ostapenko)