US Open – Round of 16: Ostapenko beats defending champion Swiatek to advance to the quarters

Latvian Jelena Ostapenko toppled the US Open titleholder on center court on Sunday night. In just under two hours of play, the world No. 21 eliminated the Polish No. 1 in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. She reaches her first quarter-final in the New York major.

Winner in New York last year, there will be no back to backs for the Pole. At the same time, there’s still no sign of a win against Latvian Jelena Ostapenko. With her victory last night on Centre Court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 2017 French Open winner now leads Swiatek 4-0 in head-to-heads. A victory won with authority against the boss of the WTA Tour. After conceding in the first set (3-6), she was ruthless in the next two (6-3, 6-1), with Iga Swiatek making more and more mistakes. For her part, Jelena Ostapenko distributed the winning shots from the baseline, and proved formidable on the return of serve. At the end of the match, the Latvian explained that she had been too hasty in the first set, before finding the right balance afterwards. And there’s no denying it: when she’s in her game and on target, Ostapenko is one of the very best.

With this tremendous success, Jelena Ostapenko reaches the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time in her career. She will face the American Coco Gauff, world no. 6, who is sure to have the crowd behind he