EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko overpowered Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina 6-4 6-1 to set up an all-Baltic title decider against Estonia's Anett Kontaveit at the Eastbourne grasscourt tournament on Friday (June 25). Latvia's Ostapenko, who took a wildcard for the warm up tournament ahead of next week's Wimbledon, raced out of the blocks to smack nine winners and break her opponent's serve twice for 3-0 lead. Rybakina roared back to draw level after six games in the opening set but soon required medical treatment on her back, and was never quite able to impose herself during the rest of the match. Ostapenko closed out the first set following a late break and was dominant in the second, with Rybakina failing to keep a leash on her unforced errors. The 24-year-old went on to seal victory and book a place in her ninth WTA final when Rybakina dished out a sixth double fault of the match. Earlier, Kontaveit took a short cut into the final as her opponent Camila Giorgi quit due to a left thigh injury in the first set. There was no hint of anything wrong with Italian qualifier Giorgi as she broke back to trail 4-5 but she then told the umpire that she had an injury and could not continue. It was a sad end to a great week for world number 75 Giorgi who had taken out fifth seed Karolina Pliskova and top seed Aryna Sabalenka en route to the last four.
EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (REUTERS) - Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi continued her impressive form at the Eastbourne championships by removing top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals on Thursday (June 24). Giorgi, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon in 2018, used her aggressive game to claim a 7-6(5) 0-6 6-4 victory and set up a semi-final against Estonian Anett Kontaveit. Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is also showing impressive form ahead of Wimbledon, reaching the semi-finals with a 1-6 7-5 6-2 victory over Russia's Daria Kasatkina, She will face either fellow Latvian Anastasija Sevastova or Elena Rybakina in her first Tour-level semi-final since 2019. "I get very excited, but when it starts I get very sad because it's very short, the grass season," former junior Wimbledon champion Ostapenko said. "I wish it could be longer, I love to play on grass." Sabalenka had won her only previous meeting with Giorgi and looked on course for a comeback victory when she reeled off the second set with a flurry of winners to level the match. The Belarusian then earned the first break of serve in the deciding set but Giorgi's game re-ignited to claim victory. "It was a great match and very good level," she said. "At the end I think it was more mental than physical." Giorgi knocked out fifth seed Karolina Pliskova in the opening round, also in three sets, meaning it is the first time in her career that she has had two wins over top-10 players at the same tournament. Kontaveit battled back to beat qualifier Viktorija Golubic 2-6 7-6(2) 7-5. More on this topic Related Story Tennis: Gauff beaten by lucky loser Sevastova in Eastbourne Related Story Tennis: Karolina Pliskova fails to defend Eastbourne title