Dangerous Jelena Ostapenko has nothing to lose against former world No 1

James Richardson 04 Jan 2024 4:07 PM

A delighted Jelena Ostapenko

Former Grand Slam winners Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Ostapenko are preparing to meet in a last-eight showdown in Brisbane, and the latter says she has nothing to lose in this encounter.

Ostapenko enters the quarter-final with Azarenka after a hard-won victory over former Slam champion Karolina Pliskova, who is also a three-time winner of the Brisbane International.

Azarenka lays claim to being a two-time Australian Open singles champion, while Ostapenko lifted the French Open trophy at Roland Garros in 2017.

Ranked as the WTA world No 12 heading into the week, the Latvian is seeded third in Brisbane and has drawn on her undoubted ability to lift her game against top players this week at the Pat Rafter Arena.

“I think I have not much pressure and nothing to lose, because I’ve been in that situation before,” Ostapenko said.

“And also I really like to play on big courts with a lot of crowd. I really don’t enjoy to play on the small courts. I feel like when it’s a big court, a good opponent and a lot of crowd, I feel even more motivated and I really enjoy it a lot.”

Ostapenko has had her battles with Azarenka down the years and expects nothing short of a brutal encounter.

“It’s going to be a tough match, we always have tough matches against each other,” Ostapenko said.

“It’s really great to get some wins, especially in the beginning of the year, so I’m just looking forward to it.”

Azarenka has fond memories of Australia in general and Brisbane in particular, having won her first title in Queensland.

“It was my first victory, so I will never forget that,” said the 34-year-old Azarenka, who took the title at her last Brisbane appearance in 2016.

“I remember that I played against Marion Bartoli and she was a great, great player and I was able to really go out in the final and really take my game and my first trophy, so it’s always going to be special.”

Ostapenko and Azarenka will meet each other in the quarter-final of the Brisbane International in what will be the third singles clash between the players.

Azarenka leads the head-to-head series against Ostapenko 2-0, defeating her at the 2019 French Open and at Indian Wells in 2021, but the pair have not crossed paths since.

Ostapenko’s fiery nature does sometimes see her go off the boil just a little bit, but this should be an intense and absorbing clash.