US Open 2023: Jelena Ostapenko defeats defending champion Iga Swiatek

US Open 2023: In a thrilling fourth-round match Sunday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2023 US Open. Jelena Ostapenko defeated first seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek, removing the Pole’s world No. 1 position.

The No. 20 seed defeated Swiatek 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the Flushing Meadows quarterfinals for the first time and improve her record against the Polish great to 4-0. The win gives Ostapenko the only WTA player with four Swiatek wins.

“The second set included important moments. After winning, especially the first game in the third set when I broke her, I felt like things were going my way “Latvian power surge. “I felt better playing. I placed her under strain since I hit several wins, and she didn’t enjoy the power I gave her because she wanted time to play.”

After winning the first set easily, Swiatek was down 1-4 to Ostapenko after winning only one of the first five games of the second set. She couldn’t overcome Ostapenko’s excellent service games, and the No. 20 seed tucked away the set to force a third set.

Ostapenko’s powerful groundstrokes and serve exposed the top seed’s weaknesses. Swiatek fell behind soon in the third with two consecutive breaks against her serve, losing confidence. Ostapenko smashed the four-time Grand Slam champion’s serve and utterly unraveled her game to win in under two hours.

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Jelena Ostapenko had 31 winners, 19 off her forehand wing, and 20 unforced mistakes.

She said, “The main thing, I was trying to go for the shots,” in her post-match presser. “Maybe in the second and third sets, I was more consistent and didn’t take crazy shots. I took shots when I could.”

Ostapenko’s advancement to the quarterfinals of the US Open sets up a matchup with the No. 6 seed Coco Gauff, whom she has a record of 1-1 against. In their most recent matchup, which took place at this year’s Australian Open, Ostapenko prevailed in straight sets.

This is the second time this year that the 26-year-old has advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament (the first time was in Melbourne). Since her run to the semifinals of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, she had not previously progressed to that point at a major tournament. Her first Grand Slam singles championship came at Roland Garros the year before, and she won it there.

After Swiatek’s loss, Aryna Sabalenka will take over as the top-ranked player on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) on Monday. This will bring an end to Swiatek’s reign, which will have lasted for 75 weeks.