On her mother's birthday, Jelena Ostapenko dedicated her first-round victory at the Dubai Tennis Championships to her.
Jelena Ostapenko began her title defense at the Dubai Tennis Championships by defeating Katarina Zavatska in straight sets.
Ostapenko won her fifth WTA championship in 2022, defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-0, 6-4 in the final.
The Latvian said after her triumph that she forced Zavatska into awkward circumstances by playing aggressive tennis, which was the key to her success.
She's not a simple opponent, in my opinion. I didn't offer her a lot of opportunities to play today.
She was playing awkwardly because I was playing more aggressively, taking time away from her.
At the post-game news conference, Ostapenko stated, "I believe that was the key.