Ostapenko and Hsieh Fall in Toronto Semifinal Deciding Tiebreak

At the WTA tournament in Toronto, Jeļena Ostapenko and her Taiwanese doubles partner Hsieh Su-wei were eliminated in the semifinal by an American pair after a tense three-set contest, falling 1-6, 6-4, 8-10 in a match tiebreak.

The first set was paused briefly after a spectator in the stands experienced a health issue. Once play resumed, the Latvia-Taiwan duo failed to find their rhythm and dropped five games in a row. In the sixth game, their opponent hit two consecutive double faults, but the set still ended 1-6 in the Americans' favor, who closed it out with a winner at the net.

The second set told a different story. In the fifth game, following an excellent return from Ostapenko, the opponents were held to love, making it 3-2. Ostapenko comfortably held serve to go up 4-2, but the Americans leveled at 4-4. The Latvia-Taiwan pair then broke their opponents' serve to lead 5-4 and closed out the set 6-4 with a strong hold on the deciding point.

The third set was replaced by a match tiebreak. Ostapenko and Hsieh trailed 3-6 and later 4-8, but managed to win four consecutive points. Their opponents then won a long rally at the net to level at 8-8. In the decisive stretch of the tiebreak, Ostapenko committed a double fault, and the match ended 8-10.

Statistics showed the Latvia-Taiwan pair trailed in several categories: first-serve points won (61% to 67%), second-serve points won (24% to 31%), total points won (51-60), and converted break points (3 of 3 versus 5 of 8). The aces-to-double-faults ratio was 2-5, compared to the opponents' 0-4.

For reaching the semifinal in Toronto, Ostapenko and Hsieh will receive 390 WTA ranking points and a prize of 107,760 US dollars.