'Angry' Jelena Ostapenko advances to upset Qatar crowd

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Jelena Ostapenko relished the opportunity to upset the Qatar Open crowd that had angered her with their support for Ons Jabeur. Three-time major finalist Jabeur had the backing of the crowd as she took on Ostapenko in the quarter-finals on Thursday (February 13).

Yet not only did fans cheer Tunisia's Jabeur, they also loudly jeered Ostapenko. That reaction only prompted Ostapenko to lift her game, though, and she eased to a 6-2 6-2 win before addressing the crowd.

"Thank you, guys, for not cheering for me because it made me even more motivated," she said. "Obviously, it's great that Onsie, a woman in the Middle East, is representing and playing.. It's amazing what she has done for tennis. But you guys made me angry and more motivated, so I was playing even better."

Ostapenko will face Iga Swiatek next, while Amanda Anisimova takes on Ekaterina Alexandrova in the other semi-final. Anisimova won the final match of the day on Thursday, coming from behind to defeat Marta Kostyuk 4-6 7-5 6-4.