"I'm really good at serving it out" Kontaveit reveals key for win

Anett Kontaveit defeated Jelena Ostapenko ending the Latvian's run recently and after the match, she spoke about some keys for the win.

Dubai champion Ostapenko carried her own career-best nine-match winning streak into the all-Baltic clash but came away with her fourth loss in five pro encounters with Kontaveit. The Latvian's only win in the series was in the Eastbourne final on grass last July, but following her 6-3, 6-4 loss in the St. Petersburg semifinals, she has yet to win a set from Kontaveit since.

On the match Kontaveit said:

"Honestly, when I made that challenge, I was down 0-40 on her serve - I was thinking, why did I do that?. But it ended up working out pretty good. Every point I'm trying to compete as hard as I can, regardless of the score. In the end, the net cord definitely saved me a little bit - I was down break point and she had really found her game. She was playing more aggressive and finding the court a lot more, so I was under a lot of pressure and got really lucky. But I served some second serves, placed them really well eventually, and managed to close it out."

Kontaveit further said:

"She can outplay anyone, and then she might not find the consistency sometimes, so you have to be ready for that. I was trying to play a consistent match and just do my best on my serve and hold on to it, especially in the second set when I was a break up. Sometimes when she's on fire, her returns are unplayable and it's just very difficult. But I kept repeating to myself, 'I'm really good at serving it out, I'm really good at serving it out,' and eventually managed to do that."