A late Venus Williams fightback was in vain as Jelena Ostapenko reached the quarter-finals of the Birmingham Classic with a three-set triumph over the American.
Williams came back from 5-3 down in the second set and saved a match point to take the contest to the distance, but Ostapenko ultimately triumphed 6-3 5-7 6-3 in two hours and 26 minutes.
Fresh from an enthralling battle with Camila Giorgi in round one and learning that she had been awarded a wild card for Wimbledon, Williams quickly gained the upper hand against the Latvian second seed.
The 43-year-old - who is now ranked 697th in the world - earned the first break for a 3-2 lead in the opener, but Ostapenko responded in kind with a four-game winning streak before building a healthy lead in the second.
Holding to love for a 5-3 lead, Ostapenko had one foot firmly in the last eight, but a dogged Williams remarkably battled back with her own quartet of game victories - saving one match point and a further three break points in the 11th game, despite having to take a medical timeout earlier in the match.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion was noticeably moving at a slower pace, but she capitalised on more unforced errors and double faults from Ostapenko to force a decider, in which she immediately broke to love against her increasingly riled opponent.
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However, Ostapenko let out an almighty roar as she broke back straight away to get the contest back on serve, and she had an improving forehand to thank for a hold in the sixth game, saving a break point to keep the contest level at 3-3.
The second seed's exemplary returning came to the fore in the seventh game as she broke to love on a stunning forehand winner down the line, and two carbon copies of that shot in the ninth ultimately punched her ticket to the quarters.
"Venus is an idol for a lot of people, it was very special," Ostapenko said on the court. "Venus is a great player and it's an honour to share a court with her, she's a really dangerous player on grass. It was hard but I managed it, I was fighting until the last point.
"It's great to play against players like Venus, she's a great champion - that hasn't gone anywhere, it will always be with her."
Ostapenko has been rewarded with a quarter-final against Poland's Magdalena Frech, and victory could see her take on Great Britain's Harriet Dart in the final four if the Briton eliminates Anastasia Potapova.
Elsewhere on British soil, Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the quarter-finals of the Queen's Club Championships with a 6-2 6-3 win over Jiri Lehecka, but over in Berlin, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff suffered shock second-round exits at the hands of Veronika Kudermetova and Ekaterina Alexandrova respectively.
Ben Knapton
