Ostapenko can’t wait for idol Williams to get back in action

Some might see Serena Williams’s absence from Wimbledon as a boost to their own chances of success, but Jelena Ostapenko cannot wait for her “all-time idol” to come back to the circuit following her maternity break.

Over the past three years, the 20-year-old has achieved many life-time goals, such as winning the junior title at Wimbledon in 2014 and catching the sporting world by surprise when she hoisted the French Open trophy earlier this month while ranked 47th in the world.

There is one burning ambition she has yet to fulfil, though -- facing the most successful professional-era tennis champion across the net.

Williams, the holder of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, will be unable to defend her All England Club title over the next fortnight as she awaits the birth of her first baby. While other rivals might be looking to capitalise on the 35-year-old champion’s absence, Ostapenko thinks otherwise.

“It’s also nice when she was playing as she’s a great champion and she is always inspiring a lot of players,” the fast-talking Latvian said. “She was always my idol when I was growing up as I would always watch her matches and really love the way she plays. She’s the greatest player and maybe our styles of play is quite similar. I hope I can still play her one day.”

Ostapenko was just two when Williams began her grand slam winning spree at the 1999 U.S. Open, and over the last two decades the American is the only woman to have achieved a feat the Latvian is now targeting - the French Open-Wimbledon double in the same year.

To do that, she has been finetuning her game that usually relies on three things - power, speed and even more speed.