ABU DHABI: Jelena Ostapenko, seeded fifth, came out on top of a rollercoaster first round at the Abu Dhabi Open, edging American player Danielle Collins 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in 2 hours and 18 minutes.
Ostapenko, who collected her fifth and most recent title in Dubai last February, is now on a six-match winning streak on Emirati soil. It was her second win in as many meetings at the pro level against Collins; -- the Latvian also triumphed 7-6(1), 6-3 in the 2018 Miami semifinals.
No.12-ranked Ostapenko is fresh off a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals last month and will face either Zheng Qinwen or qualifier Rebecca Marino in the second round. "Danielle is a great player, and it's always a tough match against her because she plays really well and she's such a fighter," Ostapenko was quoted by WTA. In other singles matches on Monday, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine defeated Sorana Cristea of Romania 6-2, 1-6, 6-2; Elise Mertens of Belgium outplayed Martina Trevisan of Italy 6-0, 6-2 while Anett Kontaveit of Estonia prevailed over Shuai Zhang of China 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
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