Jelena Ostapenko stuns Aryna Sabalenka to win Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart
Jelena Ostapenko powered past world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka Monday to win the Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. In a contest between two of the best linear ballstrikers on the WTA Tour, Ostapenko outmaneuvered Sabalenka as well as outhitting her, squeaking through a tight first set before steaming away with the second in a 6-4, 6-1 triumph.
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Ostapenko, who beat world No. 2 Iga Świątek for the sixth time in six meetings in the quarterfinals, decided the match with a run of 14 points in 17 in the middle part of the second set, as Sabalenka lost her range on her first serve. Ostapenko broke the world No. 1 four times in the second set, and ultimately won 20 of the last 24 points in the match.
Sabalenka, who has evolved her tennis since last year's clay-court swing with a focus on drop shots and feel in the forecourt, found some success in bringing her opponent forward. But Ostapenko won the defensive battle from the baseline, using squash shots and eking out slices when stretched more effectively than Sabalenka. She won over 80 percent of points on her first serve, giving Sabalenka very few moments of vulnerability to exploit aside from one loose game in the second set in which Sabalenka broke to love. Ostapenko responded with that extraordinary run of points to take the match back out of Sabalenka's grasp.
'You were just a better player than me today,' Sabalenka said of Ostapenko during the trophy ceremony.
The Latvian, who rises to world No. 18 with the title, her first since the 2024 Linz Open in Austria, said that she just loves to play in Stuttgart. Her wins over Sabalenka and Świątek made her the first WTA player in 13 years to beat the world No. 1 and world No. 2 en route to a clay-court title.
'I'm waiting to come here the whole time,' Ostapenko said of the event in her winner's speech.
For Sabalenka, her run to the final extends her lead over Świątek at the top of the WTA rankings, but she has now lost three of the five finals she has played this year. She has only ever lost four times in Stuttgart — all four defeats coming in finals.
Sabalenka and Ostapenko will move on to the Madrid Open, where the WTA main draw begins April 22.
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