Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Kozlova reached the second round at the French Open on May 27 after the win over World No. 5 Latvian Elena Ostapenko, who won this tournament in 2017.
The match ended with a score of 7-5, 6-3 and lasted an hour and 34 minutes.
“I just went to enjoy every moment on the court because I was not sure if I will be able to play in French Open,” Kozlova said at the post-match press conference. “The result comes up and it’s just amazing.”
Kozlova, 24, currently ranks 66th in the Women’s Tennis Association ranking.
The Ukrainian started the first set with an early break with a score of 2-1 (40-15). Kozlova continued to play aggressively, having two break points in the seventh game. With the fifth attempt, the Latvian took her serve. After that, both players alternately were losing their serves. The set ended at 7-5 in Kozlova’s favor.
At the beginning of the second set, Ostapenko made a break, leading 0-2. But Kozlova took over fast, winning the set 3-2. After losing her serve again, the Ukrainian finished the set with a score of 6-3.
Kozlova hit three aces and had six double faults, while Ostapenko had five aces and 13 faults. Also, the Ukrainian made less unforced errors – 22, while the Latvian made 48.
Now Kozlova goes to the second round at the Roland-Garros tournament where she will face the winner of May 28 match between Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
