World N0.45 Jelena Ostapenko won her first match of the season at the 2021 Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne. Ostapenko defeated Sara Errani in a thrilling three-set contest in the opening round of the WTA 500 event.

Despite having a 4-2 lead in the first set, Ostapenko got broken twice by Errani and eventually lost the opening set. The second set began unusually, with both players breaking each other’s serve three consecutive times. However, Ostapenko won the second set after breaking her opponent to go 5-3 up and subsequently held her serve.

Jelena Ostapenko Complains About Hawk-Eye System

The highlight of the second set was Ostapenko’s dissatisfaction with the Hawk-Eye facility on the court. The 2017 French Open champion complained about the ball tracking system not working in the arena.

Ostapenko expressed her anger over the Hawk-Eye system after some of her shots were repeatedly called out, which she thought went in. The Latvian made disgruntled gestures on the court and seemed bewildered each time the system made the decision against her favor.

“The system is so freaking bad,” said Ostapenko after the live Hawk-Eye system called her shot out during the third game of the second set.

However, Ostapenko regained her focus in the deciding set and broke Errani’s service four times to win wrap up the match comfortably. But the Latvian only won 43% of the points of her first serve, which spells a sign of worry as she progresses to the second round of the tournament.

During the match, Ostapenko committed an astonishing 42 unforced errors compared to Errani’s 15. However, the No.13 seed compensated for her massive number of unforced errors with an impressive 56 winners.

With just a week left for the 2021 Australian Open, Ostapenko will aim to achieve her top form at the WTA 500 event before the start of the first Grand Slam. Since her debut at the Australian Open in 2016, Ostapenko has failed to move past the third round at Melbourne Park.