Jelena Ostapenko bageled Simona Halep in the second-set tiebreak and in the decider to record her fourth straight victory over a major champion and advance to the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The world No.21 Ostapenko recovered from a one set deficit for the third straight match and overcame two-time Grand Slam winner Halep 2-6 7-6(0) 6-0 in Friday’s semifinals. Impressively, all the Latvian’s opponents en route to the Dubai title match were major champions, as she eliminated Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek and Petra Kvitova earlier this week.