Ostapenko joins top-seed Open carnage

Latvian dynamo Jelena Ostapenko has lost in three sets to Estonia's Anett Kontaveit in the third round of the Australian Open.

Ostapenko

Anett Kontaveit has beaten French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko at the Australian Open. (AAP)

French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is the latest big name to crash out of the women's field at the Australian Open, losing to Estonian 32nd-seed Anett Kontaveit.

In an all-Baltic third-round battle on Margaret Court Arena, Kontaveit prevailed over her Latvian opponent for a 6-3 1-6 6-3 victory in an hour and 53 minutes.

Seventh seed Ostapenko's defeat continues a week of boilovers in the women's draw and leaves Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber as the only remaining major winners.

With Sharapova and Kerber set to meet on Saturday evening, there is guaranteed to be at least one maiden grand slam finalist in next weekend's championship decider.

Kontaveit will face Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round after accounting for a wounded Ostapenko, who took a medical time-out after dropping the first set.

Ostapenko returned with her left thigh heavily bandaged and stole the momentum back from Kontaveit, roaring with delight as she took the second set in 34 minutes.

In a match where each player only held serve four times, Ostapenko's all-or-nothing style ultimately proved to be her undoing.

The 20-year-old fired off 32 winners but also made 46 unforced errors compared to 25.

"She's very tough. She plays so aggressive," Kontaveit said of her opponent.

"I was just trying to stay with her in the third set and I managed to get that break and get some confidence. I think that made the difference today."


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Source: AAP


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