In six years, Ostapenko was the only player who could beat Swiatek in the whole court

As we all know, since Australian Barty announced her retirement from tennis in 2022, Polish girl Swiatek has occupied the world number one position for a long time. Although she is no longer the world No. 1, she is the first post-00 player to win three consecutive French Open titles. Not only that, but since April 2022, Swiatek has also won six WTA1000 events. Before last week, no player had beaten Swiatek on grass, hard or clay. Looking at these stats, Swiatek is undoubtedly a very strong player.

However, since there is a record, there will be people who will be brave enough to stand up and break it. So, who will be able to break this record? Today, let the humble article take you to see it. She is the Latvian player Ostapenko. Back in 2017, Ostapenko, who had just turned 20, reached the final of the French Open. In the final, after losing one set in the first set, she won two sets in a row to defeat Romania's Halep and win the Grand Slam title. It was Ostapenko's first Grand Slam title since he entered professional tennis. At that time, Swiatek was still competing in the youth arena. At that time, neither of them thought about what kind of competition would be going between them.

In 2019, in the first round of the WTA 250 Birmingham, Swiatek and Ostapenko met in a narrow way, having just reached the first tour final of their career. Grand Slam champion Ostapenko sent a duck egg in the first set, and despite Svatak's best efforts in the second set, he managed to win only two games. It is worth mentioning that this is their first time and the only time they have played on a lawn tennis court so far.

Two years later, in the fourth round of the WTA1000 Indian Wells Masters, Swiatek, who was already the French Open champion, met Ostapenko again. At the time, the Latvian's world rankings had been declining, so many thought Swiatek deserved to win. However, in the end, there was no seven, no tie-break, no tiebreaker, and it was still a two-set sweep, and Ostapenko still had the last laugh. It was the first time the two sides faced off on hard courts, and in the four years since, the two men have faced each other three times, both of which were won by Ostapenko.

At the WTA 500 Stuttgart Open last week, Ostapenko and Swiatek finally met for the first time on clay after a three-set victory over American Navarro. In this match, Ostapenko, who has only won one clay title, played comfortably against five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek and quickly won the first set. Although in the second set, Swiatek still played and dragged the match into the deciding set. However, in the deciding set, Ostapenko managed to control the situation well and eventually prevailed, becoming the only player to win on grass, hard and clay while beating Swiatek on clay for the first time in his career.

Sports is a river and lake, and tennis is also a river and lake. I hope my article can bring some fresh information to all fans. Whether it's compliments or criticisms, maybe it's just to be able to get me far. That's it for today, and it continues tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Yixin Jushi)