Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko ended Karolina Pliskova’s title defence when she downed the Czech star 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to book a quarter-final against Victoria Azarenka at the Brisbane International on Thursday.

The 26-year-old former French Open champion needed assistance from the trainer during the third set as she struggled with the heat and humidity.

But she managed to recover enough to overcome Pliskova in 2hr 13min.

“It was very, very humid and at one point I had really low energy,” the third-seeded Ostapenko said.

“I’m coming from winter where it’s minus 15 right now and here it’s 35 degrees.

“It’s a little bit different — it’s the same for everyone but I need a little time to get used to it.”

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

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