Ostapenko: Missing Ingredient

News

Scores

Rankings

Lucky Letcord Podcast

Shop

Pro Gear

Pickleball

Gear Sale

Popular This Week

Nadal on Roland-Garros: Hope Will Decide if He Plays

Sinner: Dreaming Big on Dirt

Alcaraz: Pain-Free but Unwilling to Hit Forehand wit...

HJTEP 52nd Annual Gala Set for NYC, Tickets on Sale ...

Sabalenka: Watching Men's Tennis More Fun

Nadal: Trying to Give Best, It's Not Always There

Vondrousova Shares Heartbreak of Divorce

Patience is a virtue and a prerequisite for Jelena Ostapenko to win Wimbledon someday.

More: Kerber Eases Into Final | Serena Rolls Into 10th Final

The first Latvian singles semifinalist in Wimbledon history fell to two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-3, in today's semifinals.

The big-hitting Ostapenko committed more than five times as many unforced errors as Kerber—36 to 7—and said the loss taught her a lesson.

The 2017 Roland Garros champion said she needs to play with a bit more patience and consistency to break through at The Championships.

"I mean, just in general I think I have to play very consistent," Ostapenko told the media. "On this level, if I'm doing so many unforced errors, it's not going to work. Players like Angie, she's very consistent. If I want to play on that level, I have to reduce my unforced errors. "

Ostapenko hits her groundstrokes as hard as any woman in the game and her backhand down the line was a damaging weapon during her run to the Roland Garros title last year.

The 21-year-old Ostapenko, who was bidding to join Hall of Famers Martina Hingis and Amelie Mauresmo as the third women in the Open Era to win both the Wimbledon girls' title and ladies' crown, said she's been working with new coach Glen Schaap on shot tolerance and hitting more crosscourt to set up her down the line kill shot.

"I mean, of course I'm working on my consistency," Ostapenko said. "I mean, also, like today, you could see in the first couple games I did drop shot winners, which for me is not very often I do this. But it worked pretty well today.

"Of course, I'm working on my consistency. It's not like I want to hit every ball so hard. Sometimes in the match that happens because I really want to hit a winner, I want to win the point. But in the practice, of course I'm working on longer rallies and in general on that."

Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport

Posted: