Which version of Ostapenko?

A return to normal?

Ostapenko, the WTA enigma. We know several versions of her. The“Ostabâches”version, where her tennis is completely out of whack and capable of losing to absolutely anyone. The“Ostaprime”version, the one that beats Iga every time they meet, fires missiles on the forehand side and just becomes unplayable. And finally the“Ostadouble”version, where she overperforms in doubles, with a title in Brisbane already this year, but sometimes neglects singles. Very hard to read.

Her back is bothering her at the moment, which explains her retirement in Adelaide. Her first match against Sramkova looked more like an “access” version of Ostaprime: big first serves, the intention to dictate the rallies, and overall solid stats. This match-up is well within her reach if she stays in the same rhythm.

The issue is that you really can’t rely on the Latvian right now, she’s so inconsistent, especially in her attitude, which directly affects her tennis IQ. On the other side of the net, Wang just keeps quietly going about her business: nothing spectacular, but nothing dramatically new either. She still remains an annoying player to deal with, mixing things up a lot, but she often suffers against very powerful opponents.

The outcome of the match will clearly be on the Latvian’s racquet.