"I wanted her to be happy" - Jelena Ostapenko celebrates mother's birthday with a win at the Dubai Tennis Championships 

Jelena Ostapenko dedicated her first-round victory at the Dubai Tennis Championships to her mother on her birthday.

Ostapenko began her title defense at the Dubai Tennis Championships with a straight sets victory over Katarina Zavatska. In 2022, the Latvian swept past Veronika Kudermetova 6-0, 6-4 in the final to win her fifth WTA title.

Following her win on Monday, Ostapenko commented that the key to her victory lay in playing aggressive tennis that forced Zavatska into uncomfortable situations.

"She's not an easy opponent I think. I just today didn't give her many chances to play. I was playing more aggressive and took time away from her and made her play uncomfortable. I think that was the key," Ostapenko said in the post-match press conference.

When asked whether she was feeling any pressure to defend her title, Jelena Ostapenko said that she was focusing on how much she loves to play at the tournament. She also mentioned that she tries not to put too much pressure on herself since she has had enough of doing so after her championship win at the 2017 French Open.

"I mean, obviously I try to not think about it. It's great city, great tournament. I really love to play here. One of my favorite cities. Yeah, I just try to not put extra pressure on myself since French Open. I think I had enough of it," she commented.

Ostapenko went on to assert how special it was to win on her mother Jelena Jakovleva's birthday. The Latvian said she was looking forward to celebrating with her as much as possible before she had to start preparing for her next match.

"Of course, it's great to have her here. I wanted her to be happy so that I can bring her some good mood with my win, yeah, to finish the day with a good mood. Now we can celebrate it for a little bit because obviously I have to play tomorrow," Ostapenko commented.

Jelena Ostapenko praises Sania Mirza ahead of her retirement

Jelena Ostapenko at the Dubai Tennis Championships

Sania Mirza is teaming up with Madison Keys for her final tennis tournament at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Jelena Ostapenko praised Mirza for all her achievements over her career, commenting on the huge amount of love she receives from her fans. She also made a remark about the cuteness of Mirza's son Izhaan.

"I mean, she was such a great player. I think she can be only proud of her career. I think it's also like tennis players are not forever, you cannot play forever. I think she will have a lot of things to do in life. I mean, she's so popular, especially in her country. A lot of people just love her," the former World No. 5 said.

"I wish her all the best. She has a super cute kid also. Yeah, I think she will just enjoy time after her tennis career," she added.

Jelena Ostapenko will next take on Linda Fruhvirtova in the second round of the tournament.