THE Viking International and Bad Homburg WTA events are done and dusted, with Latvian Jelena Ostapenko claiming her first title since 2019 and maiden grass court trophy in the process at Eastbourne, whilst in Bad Homburg it was German hometown hope Angelique Kerber who got the chocolates in front of home fans.

Ostapenko’s fourth singles title came against Estonian Anett Kontaveit in a battle of Baltic nations, downing her opposition in just 65 minutes, 6-3 6-3. Whilst the Estonian hard-hitter piled on five aces to Ostapenko’s one, it was the Latvian’s 78.6 per cent win rate that made the difference as she fired on all cylinders to command control of the clash.

“I’m really happy with the way I played the whole week,” Ostapenko said. “There were some close matches, but I was fighting till the last moment. I played really well, and I think the semifinal and final I played really on a high level.”

Despite Kontaveit coming into the final leading the charge with two straight wins in the duos head-to-head, it was Ostapenko who had the last laugh with her calm approach under pressure seeing her hit 24 winners.

“I think I was honestly very calm going into the match,” Ostapenko said. “I had no stress at all. I warmed up really well, and I was really ready. I was just expecting a really tough match, because I knew she’s a great player and it’s going to be really hard to play against her.

“I was trying to play more aggressive and to go for the shots when I had chances. I think I served really well today, I returned and changed the directions [which] also helped me a lot. And using dropshots and different kind of shots, sometimes slices I did from the forehand.”

Kerber took home the Bad Homburg trophy, downing Czech talent Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-2 in just under 90 minutes. On home soil, fourth seed Kerber built off the crowd and her love of the grass courts, claiming her 13th career title and first since her 2018 Wimbledon title.

“You play for these moments, being on court, playing in front of your fans, family, crowd,” Kerber said post-match. “This is something really special. I’m really happy that I won this tournament, a special tournament at home. It means a lot to me, and after all the months which we’ve gone through, standing here with this trophy, it’s something great.”

“Everyone knows I love to play on grass, and I really feel well,” said Kerber, who was also a Wimbledon finalist in 2016. “Of course, to play the final here, with this atmosphere and these fans, it’s great. I love to play on this surface, let’s see and hope if I can continue this next week [at Wimbledon].”

Kerber led all statistics, claiming 55.3 per cent of her first serve points and 57.1 per cent of her second set points, whilst also saving seven of 10 break points and converting six of her 13 opportunities. With one ace to Siniakova’s zero and four double faults to six, it was a complete performance from the former world number one.

“I’m going (to Wimbledon) without expectations, like I played here: every single round is a win,” Kerber said. “I will just focus on every single match, every single round, and enjoy the time on and off court, like here.”

VIKING INTERNATIONAL EASTBOURNE FINAL RESULT:

Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) defeated Anett Kontaveit (EST) 6-3 6-3

BAD HOMBURG OPEN FINAL RESULT: 

[4] Angelique Kerber (GER) defeated Katerina Siniakova (CZE) 6-3 6-2

Picture credit: WTA/Jimmie48