Jelena Ostapenko, first Latvian woman to reach Wimbledon semi finals

Jelena Ostapenko defeated Slovakian world number 33 Dominika Cibulkova to reach her first ever Wimbledon semi final. She is the first Latvian women to have achieved this feat. The 21 year old won 7-5,6-4 in straight sets on court one.

Ostapenko hasn’t dropped a set in her first five matches as she marches into the women’s singles semi finals for the first time ever at the All England Lawn Tennis club in a dominating manner.

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Jelena Ostapenko was winning the junior Wimbledon title and at present she is the youngest player left in the women’s singles. This speaks volumes about the talent of the 21 year old. She will face former Wimbledon finalist Angelique Kerber on Thursday in the semi final. This will be the second Grand slam semi final for the Latvian.

Jelena Ostapenko said that she was playing without any pressure as there was no added burden of defending the title in Paris, as she was knocked out in the first round itself in the month of June. She speaks about playing with freedom and just enjoying the game.

“It’s really great to be in the semis. I’m just enjoying being here. Dominika was playing great, but I’m fighting until the end and I’m gaining more confidence. I hit myself when I missed a shot. It was too hard so I had to ice it”, Ostapenko said.

Elsewhere, Julia Goerges defeated Kiki Bertens in the other quarter-final on Tuesday. Along with Jelena Ostapenko, it was the first time for the German that she managed to enter the semi final stage. She defeated Dutch 20th seed Kiki Bertens 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win on Tuesday.

Goerges had suffered five successive opening round defeats at the at Wimbledon before this year. This was her 42nd Grand Slam appearance to finally get through to the last four at a major tournament.

Goerges, seeded 13th, faces seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams on Thursday for a place in Saturday’s final.