WHAT HAPPENED: In a tense fourth-round match Sunday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2023 US Open, Jelena Ostapenko dethroned top seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek, simultaneously stripping the Pole of her world No. 1 ranking.
The No. 20 seed solidified her head-to-head dominance over Swiatek, taking a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win to advance to the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows for the first time and extend her record against the Polish star to 4-0. The win makes Ostapenko the only WTA player to own four wins against Swiatek.
"There were some key moments in the second set. 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," the Latvian said of her power surge. "I started to feel my game better. I put her under 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."
After taking the first set handily, a listless Swiatek found herself down 1-4 against Ostapenko, having struck only one winner to the Latvian’s 10 in the first five games of the second set. It was a deficit she could not overcome, thanks to Ostapenko’s solid service games, and the No. 20 seed assertively tucked away the set to force a decisive third.
It was all one-way traffic from there, as Ostapenko’s pummeling groundstrokes and imposing serve exposed holes in the top seed’s game. Her confidence wavering, Swiatek fell behind quickly in the third with two consecutive breaks against her serve. Ostapenko was not holding back, punishing the four-time Grand Slam champion’s serve with damaging returns and completely unraveling her game to earn the win in just under two hours.
Ostapenko finished with 31 winners, including 19 off her forehand wing, compared to just 20 unforced errors.
"The main thing, I was trying to go for the shots," she reflected in her post-match presser. "Maybe today in the second and third set I was a little bit more consistent and didn't go for, like, crazy shots. I was going for shots when I had a chance."
WHAT IT MEANS: Ostapenko’s trip to the US Open quarterfinals sets up a clash with No. 6 seed Coco Gauff, against whom she is 1-1. Ostapenko claimed their last meeting, at this year’s Australian Open, in straight sets.
The 26-year-old has now reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals this season (also in Melbourne). She had not previously advanced to that stage at a major since her 2018 Wimbledon semifinal run. One year prior, she won her maiden Slam singles title at Roland Garros.
With Swiatek’s loss, the WTA's No. 1 ranking will belong to Aryna Sabalenka on Monday, ending what will be a 75-week reign for the Pole.
MATCH POINT: Each of Ostapenko’s four matches at the 2023 US Open have gone the distance in three sets. Conversely, Swiatek had cruised into the fourth round with three straight-sets wins, including a pair of 6-0, 6-1 results.
