Latvia's top player Alena Ostapenko will play her second-round match at the French Open today against Polish tennis player Magda Linette. A victory could lead the Latvian to a potential meeting with Iga Swiatek.
Alena Ostapenko will continue her performance at the French Open today and will fight for a place in the third round of the tournament.
The Latvian tennis player will face Polish player Magda Linette.
The match will take place on Court 7 and will be the second match of the day. The start of the match is expected around 13:30 Latvian time, but the schedule may change due to the duration of the previous match or weather conditions.
Currently, Ostapenko is ranked 31st in the WTA rankings and is seeded 29th in the tournament. Linette is in 73rd position in the world rankings.
This match is particularly important for the Latvian tennis player also because a potential matchup against one of the tournament's main favorites — the world number three Iga Swiatek — could await her further down the draw.
However, first, the Polish player will have to play against Czech tennis player Sara Bejlek.
Ostapenko and Linette have met before. In 2020, the Polish tennis player defeated the Latvian at a tournament in Rome, but in the Fed Cup in 2018, Ostapenko was the stronger player.
In the first round of Roland Garros, the Latvian tennis player confidently defeated German Ella Seidel — 6:4, 6:4.
Linette had a significantly tougher start, spending almost three hours on the court against Czech player Teresa Valentova.
So far this season, Ostapenko has not won any tournaments, but she traditionally shows her best tennis on clay courts and at major competitions.
For Latvian fans, Roland Garros remains a special tournament precisely because of Ostapenko's triumph in 2017 — one of the greatest achievements in the history of Latvian sports. Since that title, she has not managed to advance further than the third round in Paris.
Now the Latvian has a chance to fight for a deep run in the draw again, but the match against Linette could be one of the most challenging tests at the start of the tournament — the Polish player is considered a very tenacious and tricky opponent.
The French Open is the second Grand Slam tournament of the season and will conclude next weekend.
