Hailey Baptiste is through to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, backing up her upset of World No. 8 Elina Svitolina with another commanding straight-sets win — this time over No. 25 seed Jelena Ostapenko — on Monday evening in Miami.
Miami: Scores | Draws | Order of play
She defeated the former French Open champion 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 23 minutes on Butch Buchholz Court and continued to control proceedings as she has throughout the week. Baptiste has yet to drop a set in four matches, with wins over Tatjana Maria, No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova, Svitolina and Ostapenko.
The American has been getting the job done behind a blistering serve, which again set the tone. In her first meeting with Ostapenko at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level, she struck 11 aces and won 68% of her first-serve points. Her second serve was nearly as effective, winning 64% of those points. She was broken just once and saved nine break points in total.
While Ostapenko will likely rue her missed chances, it was clear early that the match was on Baptiste’s racket.
Baptiste saved the first of those break points in the opening game to hold for 1-0. A few games later, she ripped a backhand down the line to secure the first break for 3-1. Ostapenko earned her lone break of the match in the next game, but Baptiste responded immediately with a third straight break for a 4-2 lead.
Serving at 5-3, Baptiste saved three more break points before another backhand winner earned her a set point, which she converted with an ace to close out the opener in 39 minutes.
The pivotal moment of the second set came with Ostapenko leading 2-1 and holding triple break point. Baptiste erased all three — winning each point behind her second serve — and sealed the hold with back-to-back aces. The 24-year-old moved ahead for good a few games later when an Ostapenko forehand sailed long, giving her the break for 4-3.
Baptiste’s 10th ace set up her first match point at 5-4, and her 11th brought up a second, which she converted to seal one of the biggest wins of her career.
Next up is the winner of World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 23 seed Zheng Qinwen, both of whom would be first-time opponents.
