In the 1/8 finals of the Dubai “Australian Open”, the vice-champions Ostapenko and Kichenok defeated the USA-China duet yesterday.
In today’s match, ours started at a higher level than yesterday, however, in the fifth game, Ostapenko missed the corner of the empty court (break point), but then Dabrovski proved to be superior at the net.
Kichenoka served to 3:4, finishing with an effective shot. In the next game, the Latvian-Ukrainian duo earned the first two points, but the opponents answered with four successes. Loss in the first set with 4:6.
In Dubai, the thermometer showed 23 degrees.
In the next set, Ostapenko made it 40-40 (a break opportunity) with an irresistible shot, but then missed the court (2:2).
Kichenoka’s shot gave two chances at once, while in the next game Ostapenko stood out with an excellent serve – 4:2.
In the decisive episode of the Kichenok game, a double fault happened (4:3), but Dabrovski did not use three break opportunities in our game – 4:4. Ostapenko served to 15-40 and reached 40-40, but in the decisive game Kichenoka missed (4:5). In the second set, the loss was 4:6.
The quarterfinals are worth 215 ranking points and $24,090 in prize money.
In the ranking of the singles season, the Latvian tennis player is currently fifth, while in the ranking of the doubles season, Ostapenko/Kičenoka occupies the second place and will become the leaders next week, two points ahead of the “Australian Open” champions Eliza Mertens (Belgium) and Suwei Sei (Taiwan).
