Jelena Ostapenko vs. Elena Rybakina – Score prediction (11.10.2019)

Overview.

Rybakina has been productive in all environments, including indoor hard-courts. Earlier this season, she won W25 titles at Moscow and Kazan, Russia, in March. Ostapenko, who was the China Open doubles finalist last week, will have to come up with something special to hold off the fast-rising youngster.

Jelena Ostapenko continues her best campaign at Upper Austria Ladies Linz after Alize Cornet retired due to a right hip injury in the 71st minute. Having lost to the Frenchwoman in their only previous clash (2018 Cincinnati), the former world no. 5 broke six times to win the truncated match at the 7-5, 4-1 stage. Ostapenko is working with former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli on a trial basis. This new development comes following multiple short stints with various coaches this year. She entered the tournament with a 16-27 season win-loss, with the best result being a quarterfinal finish to Martic at Birmingham. Since her Roland Garros-winning season of 2017, Ostapenko has reached just a couple of semifinals, at Miami and Wimbledon last year. Moreover, the Latvian has not won three matches in a row since the latter. A win would yield her best indoor result since the 2016 edition of the now-defunct Katowice Open.

Debutante Elena Rybakina didn’t mind taking the scenic route to the quarterfinals, beating 2015 finalist and qualifier Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, after leading the second set by a break. She also had a narrow shave against another qualifier, Nina Stojanovic, on Tuesday, though she got away in straight sets. Rybakina has secured nearly thrice as many wins as Ostapenko this season at all levels. She has risen from no. 182 in January to the 43rd spot, picking up a title at Bucharest and finishing runner-up at Nanchang. The 20-year-old entered Linz after her sixth WTA quarterfinal (3-3), and first Premier one, at Wuhan.

Match Info.

Competition: WTA – SINGLES: Linz (Austria), hard (indoor) – Quarter-finals.
Start: 11.10.2019, 16:30 UTC.