Elisabetta Cocciaretto she takes great satisfaction in her debut in the WTA 250 in Birmingham. The Marche region, in fact, beats the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 6-3, number 1 seed in the tournament and 13th in the WTA rankings. A notable blow for the Italian number 2, now awaiting the confrontation with the American Sloane Stephenspreviously won over China’s Yue Yuan with the same score.
Ready to go, and Ostapenko’s classic unpredictability is revealed in full in the first games. In fact, the break comes immediately from Cocciaretto who then also has two balls to go to 3-0, without being able to exploit them. Shortly after the counterbreak of 2-2, with the Latvian entering a phase in which, keeping the ball on the pitch, makes it difficult to manage. At 3-2 30-30 for the former Slam winner, Cocciaretto’s sequence is this: double foul-ace-double foul-wide return. In short, two break points canceled out and then there’s a comeback at 3-3. The seventh game also ends in struggle, with a break point (from a double fault) for the Italian canceled by a powerful first. The 4-3 for her comes anyway, playing deep enough to disorientate the Latvian, taking advantage of her lack of half measures. For the native of Ancona the fundamental side is double: on the one hand the excellent quality of the service that grows, on the other a response that works. As at 5-3 30-30, when she hits a forehand crosscourt winner that earns her the set point. And he repeats himself, this time down the line, attacking Ostapenko’s second for 6-3.
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Between Cocciaretto’s absolute ability to hold well in terms of play and Ostapenko’s inconstancy, who is also capable of winning games in which he commits two double faults in a row, the break situation in some ways calms down along the first five games. In the sixth, however, the Italian manages to get to 30-40, and takes advantage of the Latvian’s second, which is not impossible, to go up again to 4-2 thanks to an excellent response. And it is precisely in this situation that the Riga native asks to have the match stopped due to a slippery pitch. Alison Hughes sends the two players to sit down, with a few umbrellas opening. A few minutes later the suspension due to (real) rain arrives and blocks everything for half an hour. At the restart there are four break points, two of which are consecutive, for Cocciaretto to save, which she does very well, to the very little happiness of her opponent. Immediately afterwards, in fact, three match points arrive in response, consecutive ones. Ostapenko, however, with two service-forehand patterns and a first winner makes no concessions and then closes the game. The Italian has three more chances to close out at 5-3: first the Latvian saves, then there is a double fault, then a great response on the uncontrollable second. The seventh attempt is the good one: Ostapenko’s response flies out and the predictions from the day before end up overturned.
For Cocciaretto, a match in which he manages to hold well even with the serve, already to equalize the 5 aces of his opponent (who commits 9 double faults). Extremely significant, and completely decisive, is the fact of remaining in excellent conditions with the first: 78% of points won against Ostapenko’s 75.1%.
