Jelena Ostapenko is back where she most likes to be: with clay underfoot and the road to Roland Garros opening invitingly before her. It has been six years since Ostapenko triumphed in Paris as a 20-year-old but, on her day, the Latvian world No 22 remains as deadly as ever on the red dirt – and it was most certainly her day at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she subjected Emma Raducanu, 46 places below her in the rankings but a world away in clay-court experience, to a chastening 6-2, 6-1 defeat in just 58 minutes.
What promised to be an intriguing meeting of two former grand slam champions rapidly developed into an execution. Free-swinging and fearless, Ostapenko rifled a backhand return to secure an early break and never looked back, overwhelming Raducanu with the power and quality of her ball-striking as she fired 26 winners off the ground. While Raducanu gathered a meagre nine points against serve, Ostapenko was ruthless off the return, treating Raducanu’s second serve with disdain as she fashioned five break points and converted each of them.
“I felt like I was playing really well today and played very aggressive,” said Ostapenko, who will face a sterner examination in the next round against Ons Jabeur, the third seed. “I didn’t give her many chances to really play her game.”
A quarter-finalist in Stuttgart last year, Raducanu, who will now fall to 83 in the rankings, looked as short on quality as she did on confidence, perhaps understandably given that this was her first match since she was beaten by Bianca Andreescu in the first round of the Miami Open almost a month ago. About the only positive she can draw from her first clay-court outing of the season is that she showed no obvious sign of the recurring wrist problem she has been managing since late last year – although, with points to defend next week at the Madrid Open, the blow to her self-esteem from such a resounding defeat may prove no less injurious.
That said, it should not be forgotten that, facing Iga Swiatek on the same court this time last year, Raducanu gave a decent account of herself. The manner in which she was blown away this time around, at one point losing 16 successive points as Ostapenko compiled a 4-1 second-set lead, is indicative of how well the Latvian performed on the day.
“I knew against her the main thing was to step in the court, and of course I missed some balls, but I was trying to be aggressive all the time when it was possible,” said Ostapenko in her on-court interview. “I just tried to take the ball early and not give her many chances. I think it worked pretty well and, finally, I’m back on clay on my favourite surface.
“I felt like I was stepping back a little bit too much in the years when I wasn’t playing well,” added Ostapenko, who has advanced beyond the second round at Roland Garros just once in five attempts since her title win in 2017. “When I step in the court and play fearless like at the French Open and try to hit winners – of course not crazy, but play a bit smarter – that’s what works well.”
In the lower half of the draw, Paula Badosa brushed aside Daria Kasatkina, the Russian seventh seed, for the loss of just two games.
“It was a pretty big performance from my side, I think I played very well,” said Badosa following her 6-1, 6-1 victory. “I was expecting a very tough match, I know she’s a top player and we always have battles, but I’m really happy about my level today.”
Badosa, the world No 31, will face Cristina Bucșa, a fellow Spaniard, in the next round.