St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2022: Anett Kontaveit vs Jelena Ostapenko preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (2) Anett Kontaveit vs (7) Jelena Ostapenko
Date: 12 February 2022
Tournament: St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2022
Round: Semifinals
Venue: St. Petersburg, Russia
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Match timing: 3 30 pm local time, 12.30 pm GMT, 7 30 am ET, 6 pm IST
Prize money: $703,580
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Anett Kontaveit vs Jelena Ostapenko preview
Second seed Anett Kontaveit takes on seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Saturday.
Kontaveit started her season at the Sydney International, where she reached the semis on the back of straight-set wins over Zhang Shuai and Elena-Gabriela Ruse and a walkover against Ons Jabeur. But the 26-year-old ended up losing to Barbora Krejcikova despite winning the first set 6-0, even squandering match points along the way.
Next up for Kontaveit was the Australian Open, where she was seeded sixth. The Estonian beat Katerina Siniakova to reach the second round but was then beaten by Denmark's Clara Tauson.
Kontaveit entered the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy as the second seed, and in the first round got past Jill Teichmann in three sets. She then beat Sorana Cirstea and Belinda Bencic in straight sets to reach the semifinals of the tournament. Kontaveit has now registered 18 consecutive match wins on indoor hardcourts.
18 IN A ROW!! 
🔥 18 IN A ROW!! 🔥
@AnettKontaveit_ becomes the first player since Justine Henin in 2010 to win 18 consecutive matches indoors!
The No.2 seed will next face Ostapenko for a place in the #FormulaTX final 🔜 https://t.co/aG1OLzCDoG
Jelena Ostapenko, meanwhile, started her year by losing in the first round at the Sydney International against eventual champion Paula Badosa. The Latvian was then seeded 26th at the Australian Open and she managed to reach the third round courtesy of wins over Anna Karolina Schmeidlova and Alison Riske.
Ostapenko faced fourth seed Krejcikova in the third round and took the opening set 6-2. However, the Czech bounced back to beat her in three sets.
Seeded seventh at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, Ostapenko reached the quarterfinals following straight-set wins over Wang Xinyu and Andrea Petkovic. The 24-year-old then beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich in three sets to seal her place in the semifinals.
🧠
@JelenaOstapenk8 defeats Sasnovich 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 to reach her first St. Petersburg semifinal!Holds her nerve 👉🧠
🇱🇻 @JelenaOstapenk8 defeats Sasnovich 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 to reach her first St. Petersburg semifinal!
#FormulaTX https://t.co/paLEMMCPfP
Anett Kontaveit vs Jelena Ostapenko head-to-head
Saturday's semifinal will be the fourth meeting between the two players. Anett Kontaveit currently leads the head-to-head 2-1, having beaten Jelena Ostapenko in their first two matches (in 2015 and 2018).
The Latvian won their third meeting though, which came in the final of last year's Eastbourne International.
Anett Kontaveit vs Jelena Ostapenko prediction
Anett Kontaveit is riding an 18-match winning streak on indoor hardcourt, the longest on the surface since Justine Henin won 22 matches on the trot from 2007-2010. But while Kontaveit might be the favorite entering the match, there is a good chance it goes to three sets.
Both players deploy an aggressive style and have powerful groundstrokes, so we could see a great deal of winners from each. But the Estonian has the edge with the serve; that is one area of the game Jelena Ostapenko has struggled with throughout her career.
Ostapenko is always a dangerous opponent given her pure ball-striking and ability to take the racket out of the opponent's hands. But Kontaveit's recent good form and confidence should be enough to help her reach the 14th WTA final of her career.
Prediction: Anett Kontaveit to win in three sets.