US Open 2023 results: Iga Swiatek loses to Jelena Ostapenko in New York

In the round of 16 at the US Open, Iga Swiatek’s attempt to retain her title was thwarted by Jelena Ostapenko’s exceptional display of powerful shots.

Swiatek, the top-seeded player from Poland, was defeated 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 by Latvia’s 20th-seeded Ostapenko during Sunday’s evening session in New York.

Ostapenko’s bold and aggressive style of play resulted in 31 winners and put Swiatek in a situation where she made numerous errors.

Ostapenko, who won her sole major at the 2017 French Open, will face American sixth seed Coco Gauff next.

Swiatek’s 75-week streak as the women’s world number one has been ended by the defeat, with Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka guaranteed to replace her after the US Open.

“I’m surprised that my level changed so drastically,” said 22-year-old Swiatek.

“Usually when I play bad, I play bad at the beginning, then I catch up or problem solve. This time it was totally the opposite.

“I don’t really know what happened with my game. I felt no control suddenly.”

Swiatek had lost all three of her previous meetings against Ostapenko, but the pair had not played since February 2022 – after which the Pole embarked on a transformational 37-match winning run.

The run led to Swiatek taking over at the top of the WTA rankings, a place she had not relinquished since as her dominance increased.

How she could cope with 26-year-old Ostapenko’s powerful hitting was a key question in an intriguing match-up.

“I always expect a tough battle against Iga, she is such a great player and very consistent,” said Ostapenko.

“But I just went for it. I know I had to play my game and be aggressive because that is not what she likes.”

Swiatek lost from an opening-set lead for the first time since October 2022, snapping a 56-match streak

After falling an early break behind, Swiatek began to soak up the groundstrokes and quickly turned an entertaining set around.

But she lost serve again early in the second set and this time was unable to rescue the situation.

Hurried by the pace of Ostapenko’s returns, Swiatek continued to make errors in the rallies and quickly became completely overwhelmed in an extraordinary deciding set.

Ostapenko landed a flurry of winners as she moved 5-0 ahead and had the opportunity to inflict a rare 6-0 scoreline on Swiatek, who has become known herself for winning ‘bagels’ against her opponents.

While Swiatek avoided that fate by breaking serve, Ostapenko was not to be denied and fittingly secured victory with another inch-perfect forehand winner to seal a break to love.

On closing out victory, she said: “I was just thinking I have to play until the very last point.

“When I was 5-0 up she was missing more but I thought I was playing better and not giving her any chances.”