Melbourne, Australia (AP) — No Showdown Iga Spheretec When Coco Gauff at the Australian Open.Instead, it was the players who beat them on Sunday – the reigning Wimbledon champions Elena Rybakina And 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko will face off for a place in the semi-finals.
Ribakina Elimination No. 1 seed Iga Spheretec After a 6-4, 6-4 win at Rod Laver Arena, Ostapenko beat No. 7 Gauff 7-5, 6-3 at the Margaret Court Arena next door.
22nd seed Rybakina (23, Kazakhstan) and 17th seed Ostapenko (Latvia, 25) reached the quarter-finals for the first time at Melbourne Park.
“I played well in the important moments,” Rybakina said. He used his big serve to unsettle Cyphiatek and take advantage of the baseline exchange. “Of course I get nervous every time I go on court. I’m learning because you say you need to.”
Swiatek is a three-time major champion, including titles at the French Open and US Open last season. She defeated 18-year-old American Gauff in the final at the French Open last June.
Through Sunday, they looked pretty dominant in the event, winning every set they contested, with Swiatek dropping just 15 games in total and Gauff dropping just 19 in three.
One of the keys to Ostapenko vs. Gauff: Ostapenko had a break chance going 3-3 and Gauff was just 1-8 in those situations.
Ryvakina’s ranking of 25th does not adequately reflect her ability or results, as she did not receive any ranking points for winning the All England Club in July. The WTA and her ATP Tour withheld all points at Wimbledon 2022 after All Her England club banned Russian and Belarusian players from participating due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Rybakina was born in Moscow but has been playing for Kazakhstan since 2018 when Kazakhstan provided funding to support her tennis career.
Despite her status as a major champion, Ryvakina is out of the spotlight. Her first round match at Melbourne Her Park took place on tiny Court 13 last Monday. Her match against two-time Slam champion Garbiñe her Muguruza was on Court 4, at least in her 1998 US Open.
But her game is more noteworthy, like when she knocked out Swiatek.
Ryvakina hit six aces and went 24-15 against the Polish 21-year-old who reached the semi-finals in Australia a year earlier. It followed Ryvakina’s victory over 2022 runner-up Daniel Collins in the third round.
Swiatek wasn’t at his best and Rybakina had a lot to do with it. In the opening game, Swiatek led his 40 loves but was broken. Next, at 15-40, Swiatek held his two breaks on his points but failed to convert either. Early on, he was 2-2 in the end, but he could very well go 4-0 in Swiatek’s favour.
Rybakina ended up serving the set on Love, closing out with a 113 mph (183 km/h) ace. Her dangerous backhand also helped a lot. She produced her six winners off the wing in the first set, while Swiertek had none. .
In the second set, Swiatek appeared to be on track, much like the player who had a 37-game winning streak last year. But that momentum didn’t last long, with Ryvakina taking six of his final seven games in this match.
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