Jelena Ostapenko’s reaction to hearing she hit 20 unforced errors against Iga Swiatek “Only 20 unforced errors in the match…” Her face says it all. 😂 Earlier in the tournament, she had 80 unforced errors in 1 match.
(VIDEO) Ostapenko: "80 unforced errors and winning match", speaks of improvement throughout US Open
Tennis NewsMonday, 04 September 2023 at 10:10
Jelena Ostapenko has spoken of the improvement she has seen in her game throughout the US Open after she achieved a shock victory over Iga Swiatek.
Ostapenko shocked the tennis world in her fourth-round match at Flushing Meadows where she ousted defending champion Swiatek. The round started out as many had predicted it would with the Polish player winning the first set, but Ostapenko fought back hard to secure a surprise win, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
What made this more interesting was that the Latvian only hit 20 unforced errors during the match, which is less than usual for a player who relies on a powerful style to hit winners. As an indication of this, throughout Ostapenko's second-round match in New York against Elina Avanesyan, she hit 80 unforced errors, four times as many as against Swiatek.
Ostapenko talks of improvement in game
Speaking after the match, Ostapenko commented on the improvements in her own game from one match to the next.
"It's not bad stats comparing to 80 unforced errors and winning match. I mean, I'm improving probably round by round," she said.
The 26-year-old also recounted how she forced herself to be more controlled in her match against Swiatek.
"Yeah, I mean, even as I said first set I couldn't really find my game that well. Honestly, it's a good stats. The main thing, again, I was trying to go for the shots. Maybe today in the second and third set I was a little bit more consistent and didn't go for, like, crazy shots. I was going for shots when I had a chance of doing that. Yeah, I think it was working pretty well," she continued.
This defeat in the fourth round of the US Open means that Swiatek has lost her place as world No. 1 in the WTA Ranking, a position she has held for 74 weeks. Aryna Sabalenka will now take up the top spot for the first time in her career.
Meanwhile, Ostapenko will go on to face home favorite Coco Gauff in the US Open quarter-finals.
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