Jodie Burrage has been kept waiting for her maiden WTA Tour title as she suffered a comprehensive quarter-final defeat to Jelena Ostapenko at the Linz Open.
The British number two could not build on a fast start against the top seed and was also hampered by an apparent groin injury in a 1-6 2-6 defeat, which Ostapenko inflicted upon her in just 70 minutes.
Qualifier Burrage was the lowest-ranked player to advance to the Linz quarter-finals and had earned statement wins over Varvara Gracheva and Jaqueline Cristian en route to a first-ever top-level meeting with Ostapenko.
The Briton put pressure on the Latvian's serve right away and unexpectedly broke the top seed in the opening game of the match, but Ostapenko immediately broke back on her fourth attempt before Burrage's groin began to plague her.
The 24-year-old needed a medical timeout midway through the first set, after which Ostapenko continued her ruthless fightback and saw out a six-game winning streak, although Burrage squandered a chance for a break back when Ostapenko was serving for the set.
Despite opening the second set with a hold to 30, Burrage continued to be overwhelmed by Ostapenko, who won five games on the spin before the British number two delayed her semi-final advancement with just her third hold of the match.
Ostapenko missed one match point but made no mistake on her second opportunity, and she will face either Elise Mertens or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the final.
