Dominika Cibulkova has shown a combustible side at these Championships but the fireworks belonged entirely to Jelena Ostapenko in their quarter-final on Tuesday.
Ostapenko is the youngest player left in the women’s draw and the first Latvian to reach the last four but, possessing this blend of power and precision, she is perfectly equipped to add the Wimbledon title to the French Open crown she won a year ago.
Ostapenko thrashed down 33 winners to Cibulkova’s six in a 7-5, 6-4 victory. She took a while to find her range – so much so that she vented her frustration by hitting her own leg and needed to put ice on it between games – but, once she did, Cibulkova was always swimming against the tide.
Ostapenko faces Angelique Kerber – the German who reached the final in 2016 – on Thursday for the first time but considering she is yet to lose a set she has little to fear. It may come as a surprise, however, that she puts her run down, at least in part, to a penchant for ballroom dancing.
“I did [it] from five to 12. I quit for some years but now I’m doing it as a hobby,” the 21-year-old 12th seed said. “It helps a lot because you have to be very coordinated to do it. Those small steps are very useful in tennis.”
Ostapenko, in this sort of form, is irresistible. And the self-confessed thrill-seeker is not about to harness her power with pragmatism.
“When I have opportunity in my matches, I’m just going for the winners,” she said. “[My coach] wants me to go for the shots. He doesn’t mind if I miss the shot, but I go for the next one.”
For all her strengths, Ostapenko’s greatest weakness is a pretty average second serve – a problem Cibulkova suffered too on a blustery No 1 Court.
There were four breaks of serve in the opening five games of the match – Cibulkova moving into a 3-1 lead before Ostapenko broke back immediately;she did so again at 6-5 before closing out the opening set with back-to-back aces. Cibulkova dug deep after going down 4-2 in the second set but Ostapenko’s booming groundstrokes brought her home.
With all top 10 seeds out of the draw Cibulkova believes Ostapenko can go all the way. “She’s young, she’s playing with no fear,” the defeated Slovak said. “I think on the grass she’s playing even better than on the clay. It might be her year.”
Cibulkova was sanguine in defeat after a run to the quarter-finals that began with her losing her seeding to accommodate Serena Williams, attracting the ire of Johanna Konta and then having her sportsmanship questioned in the previous round. “I’m really happy with the two weeks, with the 10 days I played here. I finally played my great tennis again.”
