Latvian Tennis star Jelena Ostapenko dealt a major blow by knocking Iga Swiatek out of the US Open. This massive upset has sent shockwaves around the world, as fans come to terms with the news. With this defeat, Ostapenko ended Swiatek’s run as the number-one player in the world.
This is Iga’s fourth consecutive loss to the Latvian. The last time they had locked horns was in Dubai, and Swiatek immediately started her tenure as the top-ranked player. Ironically, Ostapenko is also the one to end it.
Swiatek started strong, winning the opening set 6-3. Ostapenko committed several unforced errors in the first set, but she finally found her rhythm. She then went hard at Iga, who had no way to counter Ostapenko’s style of playing. Jelena won the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Following her victory, Ostapenko opened up about the reason she has been able to defeat Iga so many times.
Jelena Ostapenko knocks Iga Swiatek out of the #USOpen pic.twitter.com/VHjswwMIkm
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2023
Fans blasted Iga on social media, for her inability to hold her own against a hard-hitting player like Jelena. They were quick to compare Iga with the likes of Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic. A user commented, “Iga is overrated.” Another fan referred to Ostapenko as Iga’s “Kryptonite.” Here are a few fan reactions.
Iga is overrated…Serena wouldve blasted both her and this girl here in straights in her prime. neither come close to Serena when she really wanted it.
— SussyHUTAO (@Palmtop_Tiger77) September 4, 2023
Incredible how Iga don’t have a clue how to defeat Ostapenko 😂 so funny and unreal
— Lord Wakanda ♓︎ (@RBCityzen) September 4, 2023
Penko is Iga’s kryptonite 😅. Remains undefeated against her 🫡.
— Mary B 🏁 (@s0cal_007) September 4, 2023
There’s really no one close to Serena Williams and the great Novak. These new champions are just jokers.
— Iyke (@drackfel) September 4, 2023
This defeat will surely hurt Iga Swiatek, losing the top rank and her chances of winning another title in one go. As for Jelena, she will carry this momentum into the quarterfinal, where she will face title favorite Coco Gauff next.
Iga Swiatek vs. Jelena Ostapenko match summary
Prior to the match, Iga fancied her chances against Ostapenko, stating she had evolved since their last encounter. However, Ostapenko overpowered the Pole to blaze her way into the quarterfinal.
At the start of the match, both players broke each other’s serves before settling down. Swiatek started off well from the baseline, much to the delight of the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Iga eventually took the first set under 40 minutes.
Ostapenko came back hard in the second set, breaking Iga twice to go up 3-0. By the time the scoreboard read 4-1, Jelena had struck 10 winners compared to Iga’s 1. She powered through to take the match into the third set.
JELENA OSTAPENKO UPSETS DEFENDING #USOPEN CHAMPION AND WORLD NO. 1 IGA SWIATEK 😱
Ostapenko is UNDEFEATED against Swiatek in her career‼️ pic.twitter.com/3CCO1xtqce
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 4, 2023
Iga completely fell apart in the final set. Her service game declined in quality and she made several forehand errors. Ostapenko won the decider quite easily, thus reaching the quarterfinal in New York City for the first time.
Ostapenko finished with 31 winners and 20 unforced errors. Iga struck 18 winners and committed 18 unforced errors. Ostapenko broke her seven times en route to her victory.
With this win, Ostapenko has reached the quarterfinal of every Grand Slam in her career. She was the second player to do it last night, the first being Karolina Muchova. The anticipation around Jelena Ostapenko’s match against Gauff is already sky-high. They will lock horns tomorrow.
