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Match details
Fixture: (7) Jelena Ostapenko vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Date: 11 February 2022
Tournament: St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: St. Petersburg, Russia
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Indoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $703,580
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Jelena Ostapenko vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich preview
Jelena Ostapenko and Aliaksandra Sasnovich will lock horns in the quarterfinals of the 2022 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Friday.
Ostapenko, the seventh seed, has been in menacing form this week. The Latvian has dropped only eight games in her two matches so far.
She looked dialed in during her 6-1, 6-2 win over Andrea Petkovic in the second round, firing an incredible 39 winners in under an hour. The former French Open champion will look to carry the momentum deeper into the tournament.
Sasnovich, too, was similarly in control of her match against the big-hitting Jaqueline Cristian, needing a little over an hour to overcome the Romanian.
The Belarusian has made a solid start to the season, having already reached the final at the Melbourne Summer Set, where she lost to Amanda Anisimova. She, however, did make an early exit at the Australian Open and will be keen to bounce back with another big run here.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich head-to-head
Ostapenko leads Sasnovich 3-0 in their head-to-head. The Latvian had beaten her opponent 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 during her title-winning run at St. Petersburg back in 2015.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich prediction
Given their lopsided head-to-head, Ostapenko will enter this contest as a favorite. The seventh seed's power-packed game has worked extremely well in the quick court conditions here and she will be looking to dictate play right from the start.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, however, is a master at using her opponent's power efficiently. The Belarusian's compact backswing allows her to easily redirect the pace coming from the other end, a tactic she used fairly well against Cristian in her last match.
Sasnovich also likes to take the ball early and employs flat groundstrokes, which can also inflict a fair bit of damage indoors. The big area of concern for her will be the serve, which she will have to defend well against an aggressive returner in Ostapenko.
If both women can produce the level that they have all week, we could be headed for a tight encounter. That said, Ostapenko's raw power gives her an edge in the conditions.
Prediction: Ostapenko to win in three sets.
