Iga Swiatek once again lost against Jelena Ostapenko, recording her sixth consecutive loss against the Latvian.
For most tennis players, Swiatek is a nightmare opponent. The Pole is known for handing crushing defeats left and right, often overwhelming her opponents with her great footwork and precision.
But as much as most players hate playing against Swiatek, there is also one player whom the Pole hates to play against. Ostapenko has always excelled against Swiatek in the past, and ahead of their meeting at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, the Latvian knew exactly what she had to do.
Ostapenko beat Swiatek in Birmingham in 2019. She bested her at the Indian Wells Open in 2021, and also at the Dubai Championships in 2022. In 2023, the Latvian beat Swiatek at the US Open, and this year, Ostapenko recorded a win over the WTA World No. 2 in Doha.
In those five wins, the 27-year-old lost only two sets against Swiatek. Prior to their meeting at the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart, Ostapenko spoke about how she planned to approach the match.
"I just have to do what I have to do: Stay aggressive and play my game. I'm always ready for a battle against great players. I mean, she's a great player. Yeah, I think I just need to focus more on what I have to do."
As she promised, Ostapenko was very aggressive. Despite losing against the Latvian five times before, Swiatek, again, didn't know how to respond to what her opponent brought to the table.
In almost no time, Ostapenko won the first four games of the match, losing only six points in the process. Swiatek was then able to recover one of the lost breaks, but she was immediately broken back, falling behind 1-5.
For a moment, it seemed that Ostapenko would easily close out the first set, but she was broken once more. Still, her two-break lead meant that she could win the first set 6-3 after finally producing a serve hold.
At the start of the second set, Ostapenko had a chance to break and go into a decisive lead, but she couldn't use her break chance at 1-1. On top of that, the Latvian then lost eight consecutive points, losing her serve after a couple of unforced errors and a couple of winners from her opponent.
Up 3-1 and 30-15 in the second set, Swiatek certainly started thinking about a comeback, but those thoughts were quickly halted by her opponent. Ostapenko produced some magical moments to recover the lost break, making it 2-3.
But despite Ostapenko's attempts, Swiatek was actually the better player in the second set. The second seed won it 6-3, sending the match into the decider.
Yet, despite all the efforts from the four-time French Open winner, Ostapenko just once again knew how to beat her. The Latvian dominated the third set to win the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, securing her spot in the semi-final against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Popular News
Just In
