Luxembourg Open 2021: Jelena Ostapenko vs Alize Cornet preview, head-to-head and prediction
Match details
Fixture: (3) Jelena Ostapenko vs (8) Alize Cornet
Date: 17 September 2021
Tournament: Luxembourg Open 2021
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg
Category: WTA 250
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: $235,238
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Jelena Ostapenko vs Alize Cornet preview
Defending champion and third seed Jelena Ostapenko will face eighth seed Alize Cornet in the quarterfinals of the Luxembourg Open on Friday.
Ostapenko advanced to the last eight with 6-2 4-6 6-1 win over Dutch qualifier Arianne Hartono in the previous round. The former Roland Garros champion won the first set comfortably, but some inspired tennis by Hartono, coupled with some mistakes from Ostapenko, saw the Latvian drop the second set.
But Ostapenko regrouped quickly, winning five straight games in the final set to seal the win and continue her title defense.
Meanwhile, Alize Cornet has won both of her matches quite comfortably. The Frenchwoman defeated Anastasia Potapova in straight sets in her opener and followed it up with a straight-sets victory over Mandy Minella.
Cornet has recorded wins over Grand Slam champions Bianca Andreescu and Garbine Muguruza this season. She also made the final of the WTA 250 event in Chicago, where she lost to Elina Svitolina.
Aside from that, though, her results have been pretty dismal. Thus, she will be keen to turn her fortunes around in Luxembourg with a deep run.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Alize Cornet head-to-head
This will be the fourth meeting between Jelena Ostapenko and Alize Cornet, with the Frenchwoman leading the head-to-head 2-1. They've only played each other on hardcourt and Ostapenko's solitary win came two years ago when Cornet retired in the second set of their second-round clash at the Linz Open.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Alize Cornet prediction
As is often the case with Jelena Ostapenko, the match will rest on her racket. If she plays with controlled aggression and stays relatively consistent, there's not much Cornet can do to stop her.
The Latvian's serve is possibly the weakest part of her game so the plan for Cornet should be to stay aggressive on return and get on top of the rallies. However, it remains to be seen if she can do that consistently against a player as aggressive as Ostapenko.
Given her form this season, the defending champion should easily douse Cornet's challenge and advance to the semifinals.
Prediction: Jelena Ostapenko to win in three sets.