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Jelena Ostapenko and Petra Kvitova in 'mind-boggling' Indian Wells drama

The pair produced one of the craziest and most bizarre matches of all-time.

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·5-min read
Petra Kvitova and Jelena Ostapenko shake hands at Indian Wells.
Petra Kvitova (pictured far left) won an extraordinary match against Jelena Ostapenko after a crazy scoreline at Indian Wells. (Images: Twitter/@WTATour)

Petra Kvitova has won an absolutely extraordinary match of tennis after defeating Jelena Ostapenko with a player winning a set to love - after losing a set to love - for the first time in WTA history. No.24 seed Ostapenko raced through the first set against Kvitova in stunning fashion to bagel the World No.15.

However, in a match that proved to be full of momentum, Kvitova lifted her game in the second set. Kvitova lifted and matched Ostapenko's efforts to win the second set 6-0.

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This marked the first time since WTA 1000 history that a player has bounced back from a first set bagel to win the next set to love. The incredible scoreline had everyone on the edge of their seat for the third set, but there was more drama to come.

Kvitova went on to win 10 games in a row after extending her lead to 4-0 in the third. Ostapenko appeared unwell throughout the match as she coughed into her towel. However, Ostapenko wrestled back the momentum and rattled off four games to level the dramatic match.

Kvitova then called a controversial medical time out with an apparent blister on her finger. And in another momentum swing, Kvitova returned from the small break in play to win the match 0-6, 6-0, 6-4.

The pair met at the net and shook hands. The duo shared words after the match as they remained shaking hands.

Tennis fans around the world watched on absolutely stunned at the scenes. One fan called the scoreline a 'monstrosity, while others bemoaned the Kvitova's timeout during Ostapenko's comeback.

Kvitova will now go on to play the in-form American Jessica Pegula in the round of 16. Coco Gauff was another American to advance at the WTA 1000.

Iga Swiatek bounces back at Indian Wells

While Swiatek suffered her first defeat in quite some time at the Dubai Tennis Championship, she started off her title defence with a dominant start with a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing of American Claire Liu. The top seed won the first 11 games of the second-round clash before claiming victory in just over an hour on Saturday, the fifth time this season she's dropped just one game in winning a match.

Beaten in the fourth round at the Australian Open in January, Swiatek improved to 13-3 in 2023 with the win. All 13 of those wins have come in straight sets.

Jelena Ostapenko reacts during her match.
Jelena Ostapenko (pictured) appeared unwell during her Indian Wells match. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, despite supporting strapping before the tournament on her wrists, Emma Raducanu knocked out 20th seed Magda Linette 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to reach the third round of Indian Wells and notch her biggest win since triumphing at the US Open in 2021. The 20-year-old Briton fell into a 4-1 first set hole but rallied from there, dictating points with her forehand to push Linette deep into the court.

She sealed the win by whipping a forehand winner down the line to bring the fans to their feet on a warm and windy day in the Southern California desert. The win marked Raducanu's first back-to-back victories since September and is a hopeful sign that she may be moving beyond the multiple health issues that have beset her of late.

with AAP

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