What a turnaround for Petra Martić! On the verge of conceding defeat, Martić came back stronger than ever and ultimately defeated Jelena Ostapenko with a score of 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 after a little less than two and a half hours of play in a true quarterfinal spectacle at the Birmingham Classic. Petra Martić was one set down, losing 4:0 in the second, and managed to save five match points for the win, reports HRT on June 21, 2019.
Spectators were already impressed from the start of the first set. Ostapenko first took two of Petra’s serves and led 4-0, but Petra went on to win five games in a row for 5-4. The Latvian player then served for the set, but Petra pushed the match to the 13th game, where Ostapenko was better and won the first set 7-6 (4).
The madness continued into the second set. Ostapenko again led 4-0, but Petra made an incredible comeback! Ostapenko was ready to serve for the match, but Petra took it to 15:40. The game then went to 40:40, but Martić took advantage of her third break point.
The 10th game saw no less drama - Ostapenko led 0:40, but Martić came back to 40:40. After the eleventh game, Martić secured the second set!
The decisive third set saw the full dominance of our Croatian player who took the serve of her opponent three times! After two hours and 26 minutes of play, it was Martić to celebrate and secure her spot in the semifinal of this WTA tournament.
What a comeback!
— WTA (@WTA) June 21, 2019
Petra Martic saves five match points to defeat Jelena Ostapenko 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-1! #NatureValleyClassic pic.twitter.com/UYosjb1UKn
In the next round, Martić will play against the winner of the game between Kazakhstan’s Yulia Antonovna Putintseva and Germany’s Juliet Goerges.
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