By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday September 3, 2023
Jelena Ostapenko remained undefeated against Iga Swiatek and knocked the four-time champion out of the US Open.
Photo Source: Getty
Entering Sunday night's tussle with World No.1 Iga Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko had won all three meetings with the Pole.
Make it four for four.
Ostapenko rallied from a set down to knock off the top seed and defending champion, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, sending her tumbling from the US Open draw with a scintillating performance that has sent seismic waves through the US Open women’s singles draw.
“I knew she's a great player and she's very, very consistent, especially last few years,” Ostapenko said. “I also knew she would have all the pressure because she's obviously No. 1. I think if she lost against me today she loses the No. 1 spot. I was just trying to make it hard for her and to play my game and to fight until the very last point.
“I knew there will be moments when I have chances, and I waited for them.”
Swiatek, who drops to 7-7 lifetime in round of 16 matches at the majors, will surrender the No.1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka after the US Open – the Pole needed to outperform the No.2 seed in order to begin her 76th week at No.1 on September 11.
On a hot, humid night in New York, Swiatek and Ostapenko contested a first set teeming with fast-twitch rallies, and it was the top seed who claimed the early edge.
But things quickly turned as the second set commenced with Ostapenko taking a 3-0 lead and eventually surviving a late push by Swiatek as she broke for 5-3 and closed out the 41-minute set in the next game.
Deflated by the set, and struggling with the humidity, Swiatek didn’t have any say in the final set as Ostapenko teed off, winning 18 of 23 return points as she raced out to a 5-0 lead.
“I think the main thing is that she doesn't really like to play against big hitters,” Ostapenko said. Swiatek did manage a break for 5-1 but was broken at love in the final game, Ostapenko scorching her 19th forehand winner of the night to end the contest at the one hour and 48-minute mark.
“There were some key moments in the second set,” the Latvian concluded. “When I won it, especially the first game in the third set when I broke her, I felt like it's going more my way. I started to feel my game better. I put her under the pressure, of course, because I was hitting quite many winners, and she didn't like the power I was giving her because she needed some time to play”.