• The first racket of the Baltics will compete in this match Alon Ostapenko (WTA 14th) and US number three Madison Keys (WTA 23rd).
• The American woman, who will reach the threshold of 28 years on February 17, is considered a slight favorite in this fight.
• Both have an aggressive style of play and make powerful shots, but Keys is considered the better server.
• The balance of mutual games is 1-3. Ostapenko’s only victory (6-3 ret.) was achieved due to the injury of the American on June 26, when after losing the first set, Keys refused to fight again. The last meeting took place in the second round in Cincinnati in August, where the host showed a superior performance and won 6:4 and 7:5.
• Ostapenko now has an “impossible mission” in the Middle East, as she has to defend a lot of points in three tournaments in February. In 2022, she accumulated 1,986 points, including 1,005 in February, which is 50.6% of last year’s amount.
• If our tennis player loses in the first round now, then due to the 470 undefended points, she will lose several positions in the ranking and will not be higher than 21st place next week.
• Keys doesn’t have to defend points in February, as she only played one game in that month last year and lost.
• Since 2015, this American has played only five matches in February (2-3 record).
• Keys has not played since the third round of the Australian Open on January 20. Ostapenko stopped in the quarterfinals of the first “Grand Slam” of the year, but in February she fought in the second round in Abu Dhabi and yesterday she successfully played the doubles match in Doha.
• In Doha, our tennis player starts with a hairstyle that is different from the one seen in Abu Dhabi.
• Ostapenko went 34-19 in singles last year, while Keys went 30-20.
• In 2022, Keys defeated eight “top 30” tennis players of the time on hard court. She lost to Iga Šviontek (#1), Barbora Krejcikova (#4), Paula Bados (#6), Daria Kasatkina (#11), Alena Ostapenko (#15), Elina Svitolina (#16), Coco Goff (#19). and Yelena Rybakina (#25).
• At the Grand Slam level, Ostapenko has a French Open title (2017) and a Wimbledon semifinal (2018), while Keys lost in the US Open final six years ago and reached four more semifinals.
• During her career, currently 25-year-old Ostapenko has won five major tournaments, while Keys, who is two years older, has won six WTA titles.
• 24 degrees and sunny weather are forecast for the upcoming match in Doha.
• In the round of 16, the winner of the duel will face Jessica Pegula (WTA 8), who has a positive balance of head-to-head matches against Ostapenko (2-1) and Keys (1-0).
• This is the second of three February tournaments in the Middle East series.
Resources used:
wtatennis.com
