It was a good day to be Swiss and a bad day to be named Jelena on Thursday at s-Hertogenbosch, as the second round was concluded with a pair of upsets and a battle for the number one seed. The quarterfinal seed is now set at the Ricoh Open, so let’s take a look back at what happened on day four in the Netherlands.

Results

Top seed Belinda Bencic was forced to fight in her second round match against Varvara Lepchenko, coming back from a set down to reach the quarterfinals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The Swiss got off to a slow start, falling behind an early break in the opening set from which she was unable to recover. Bencic turned things around in the second set, upping her return game and scoring a pair of breaks to send the match to a deciding set. The top seed was rolling by the third set, not facing a break point and grabbing two more breaks of her own to advance to the quarterfinals.

Second seed Jelena Jankovic was not so lucky, falling in three sets to world number 120 Evgeniya Rodina. Jankovic’s weak serve proved to be her undoing as, after claiming the opening set in a tiebreak, Rodina had the answer and dominated the last two sets in the 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-4. The pair exchanged breaks in the opening frame before Jankovic dominated the breaker. The momentum shifted immediately in the second set, as Rodina broke twice as saved all three break points against her own serve. The Serb would finally score a break in the final set, but seven break points against her serve resulted in a pair of breaks for the Russian, who sealed the victory in two hours and 12 minutes.

Jelena Jankovic hits a backhand during her loss. Photo: Ricoh Open
Jelena Jankovic hits a backhand during her loss. Photo: Ricoh Open

After dominating her first round match, fourth seed Jelena Ostapenko could not keep her level up and was stunned in the second round by world number 104 Kateryna Kozlova in straight sets. There was little to decide between the two women in the opening set, with both scoring a break before Kozlova took advantage of a late break point to seal the opening set. Winning the first seemed to give the Ukrainian momentum, as dominated the second set, saving all three break points that she faced while managing two breaks to seal a 7-5, 6-2 victory. Ostapenko had ten double faults in the match, including eight in the second set alone.

A battle of players outside the top 100 saw Viktorija Golubic advance to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Risa Ozaki. Neither player was particularly strong on serve in this match but Golubic had the slight edges in all categories, leading her to victory. The opening frame was somewhat close, with the Swiss scoring a pair of breaks to make up for the break she surrendered and took the first set. Golubic took full control of the match in the second set, breaking three times and only giving up one break point, which she failed to save, cruising to victory in only 71 minutes.

The quarterfinals will take place tomorrow.

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About the author
Pete Borkowski
Tennis has always been my obsession. What better way to channel that obsession than writing about it? After 18 months of blogging with Sportsblog.com as the writer of A Fan Obsesseds blog, all the while completing my Bachelors in history and French, I joined VAVEL so that I can better share my love and knowledge of tennis with the world.