Dubai Duty-Free Championships 2019: Jennifer Brady coasts to win against Jelena Ostapenko

A tough day with the serve for Jelena Ostapenko brought her tournament to an abrupt end at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships Monday.

What looked to be an inconsolable moment for the Latvian turned into a physical issue with her serve that allowed Jennifer Brady to win in straight sets 6-4, 6-0 on centre court at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Stadium.

The loss of control from her opponent left the door wide open for the UCLA tennis star to advance in her tournament debut.

The two met on clay two years ago where the Latvian went to three sets with the American to take over in the last two.

While she doesn’t find herself facing Brady on that surface, the 21-year-old had to get a good start against the hard-hitting 23-year-old.

She secured her way into the main draw for the first time winning in straight sets back to back. With an 8-4 record so far this season, the American gave herself a serious chance at knocking out the world No. 22 in new territory.

With the court comfortable for Ostapenko, she quickly answered Brady’s serve to break her apart fast.

Unfortunately, the early success didn’t reflect on her serve to commit three double faults. It opened the door for Brady on deuce before she easily broke back.

She was left with no choice but to brush off the troubles and hook herself back into a pace. After a hold from the American, Ostapenko went for another serve to love but gave up early points again.

Brady forced deuce with speedy returns that earned her another break for her third straight.

The Latvian found a way to break the American in the fifth but the breaks seemed to have connected a third coming in the sixth in Brady’s favour.

Double faults were racking up between the two with nine total indicating the problems on their serve. It helped Ostapenko get back within one making it the fourth consecutive game broken.

She did everything in her power to avoid a fifth as getting level was key for the 21-year-old. Saving two break points, Ostapenko forced deuce to dig in and clinch her first hold of the set.

Brady made sure to follow suit as the set got closer to its conclusion putting down crosscourt shots that made it tough for Ostapenko.

Facing an early defeat, the 21-year-old double-faulted twice before a return long ended her strive for positive positioning after 45 minutes.

As the set finished, Ostapenko let out a scream of displeasure becoming very emotional at the bench during the set break.

The Latvian had seven double faults through ten games and a service game well underperforming.

With no real consistency coming from her end, it left the door wide open for Brady to dictate her story of maintaining success.

She opened with a serve to love to start the second set before coasting to another break where Ostapenko stopped moving for every point.

It led to another game streak for the American while stress completely rattled the Latvian. She soon found herself in a no-win situation giving up six straight with Brady up 4-0 in the set.

Ostapenko again suffered emotional moments while serving the ball. When she found herself down 5-0, the 21-year-old called for the physio to treat a back problem that explained her emotional breakdown.

When the medical timeout was over, Ostapenko served to stay alive in the match but the damage was done. Brady gained three break points before a second serve ace from the Latvian came to light.

She picked up two more that included a ball catching the line to get her to deuce. A second ace in the game got Ostapenko in a good spot until an 11th double fault faded it away.

Brady earned a fourth match point that came on a final return into the net ending the 21-year-old’s tough day on the court in 1 hour and 18 minutes.

.@jennifurbrady95 seals victory over Ostapenko!Is through to the second round of the @DDFTennis 6-4, 6-0! pic.twitter.com/jkXIPUkCxg

— WTA (@WTA) February 18, 2019

Though it didn't pan out as a full competitive match for Brady, she assured herself plenty of it facing the winner between Caroline Garcia and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.

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