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Match details
Fixture: (2) Barbora Krejcikova vs (15) Jelena Ostapenko
Tournament: Qatar TotalEnergies Open.
Date: 23 February, 2022
Round: Third round (Round of 16).
Venue: Doha, Qatar.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $2,331,698.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Barbora Krejcikova vs Jelena Ostapenko preview
Second seed Barbora Krejcikova and Dubai champion Jelena Ostapenko will lock horns on Wednesday with a place in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open up for grabs.
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The reigning French Open champion has made a bright start to the season, reaching the finals in Sydney and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. However, she stuttered in Dubai last week, falling to qualifier Dayana Yastremska in straight sets in the pre-quarterfinals.
The Czech has bounced back quickly, opening her campaign in Qatar with a 6-1, 6-3 second-round win against Magda Linette.
The Ostapenko juggernaut, meanwhile, has continued to chug along uninterruptedly. The Latvian seems to have rediscovered the form that took her to the title at the 2017 French Open.
The 24-year-old has now won 12 matches this year, including a run to the title in Dubai and the semifinals in St. Petersburg.
She has been moving smoothly through the draw at the Qatar Open as well. After blowing away Oceane Dodin 6-4, 6-2 in the first round, she edged the resurgent Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Tuesday.
Ostapenko has now extended her winning streak to seven matches. She will hope to avenge her Australian Open loss to Krejcikova when she faces the Czech next.
Barbora Krejcikova vs Jelena Ostapenko head-to-head
Krejcikova and Ostapenko are tied 2-2 in the head-to-head. Their most recent meeting came last month at the Australian Open, where the Czech emerged with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.
Barbora Krejcikova vs Jelena Ostapenko prediction
Jelena Ostapenko has been on a rampage over the last few weeks. In Dubai, she defeated four Grand Slam champions en route to lifting her fifth career title.
The Latvian has looked fearless even when the chips have been down. Out of her five matches in Dubai, she had to thrice overturn a one-set deficit. Ostapenko's fighting spirit and newfound self belief have seen her blow away her opponents with a brutal display of power tennis.
She has so far refused to show any signs of fatigue after playing for three weeks in a row. Another aspect of her game that she has improved is her serve. Ostapenko powered eight aces past Dodin in her first-round encounter.
Krejcikova will likely come up against a different version of Ostapenko from the one she faced last time around.
The Czech, on her part, will look to move the Latvian all over the court with her sharp angles and volleys. But if the Latvian can put up decent serving numbers, manage to control her aggression and keep her unforced errors to a minimum, she could scalp another Grand Slam champion in the Middle East.
Prediction: Jelena Ostapenko to win in three sets.
