Viking International: Anett Kontaveit and Jelena Ostapenko feature in title clash

Anett Kontaveit and Jelena Ostapenko will play each other in the final of the Viking International. 

The Estonian was the first to reach the final on Friday after her semi-final opponent, Camila Giorgi retired while down 4-5 in the opening set with an injury to her left thigh. This is Kontaveit’s second final this season. Earlier, in January, she reached the Grampians Trophy final.

In her post-match presser, Kontaveit said, “Of course, it's never the way you'd want to win. It was a very close nine games, and I was very surprised and very sorry for her that she had to retire. But I have had really good matches so far, the ones leading up to the semi-final as well. I'm really happy with the way I'm playing and really happy to be in the final.”

Viking International: Jelena Ostapenko returns to a finale

Ostapenko, whom Kontaveit will play in the final, is a familiar rival for her. The Latvian defeated Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-1 to reach her first final since the 2019 Luxembourg Open, almost two years ago. Ostapenko hit 38 winners and had 30 unforced errors. She also became the first player from her country to make it this far in Eastbourne.

Talking with the press, post her win, Ostapenko shared, “I'm really happy with the way I played this week, and every match I played better and better. It's been a while (since making a) final, so I'm really happy to be in a final and looking forward to tomorrow's match.”

The Viking International final between Anett Kontaveit and Jelena Ostapenko also has a special connotation to it in that it’ll be played between two players from the Baltic region. Speaking about this in her media conference, Ostapenko said, “It's actually nice to have a Baltic final, because (we're) not such big countries, but we still have good players. Anett, I know since juniors. We have been playing a lot, maybe not so many matches but we practice sometimes together, in juniors, and played even doubles. So, I know her quite well.” Meanwhile, in terms of their rivalry, Kontaveit leads Ostapenko having won both of their previous matches.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3gXrLbm