MELBOURNE (AP) — There will be no matchup between Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff at the Australian Open. Instead, the tennis players who beat them on Sunday will collide.
Elena Rybakina, the reigning Wimbledon champion, and Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, will meet for a ticket to the semifinals.
Rybakina knocked out top-ranked Swiatek on Sunday to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals, a first for her career.
Ostapenko, 25-year-old Latvian. she upset Gauff (seeded 7th) 7-5, 6-3 at Margaret Court Arena.
Rybakina (seeded 22nd) used her big serve to unsettle Swiatek, getting the better of the baseline volleys to earn a 6-4, 6-4 win in about an hour and a half.
“I played well in the important moments,” Rybakina said. “Of course, I get nervous every time I go out on the court, I think like all of them. But I’m always calm. At least I try not to show too much emotion. My coach tells me that I would actually need to show them sometimes, so I’m learning too.”
Swiatek has been a three-time major champion, including titles at the French Open and the US Open last year.
Rybakina’s placement in the rankings did not reflect her ability or results, as her title last July at the All England Club came in an edition of the tournament that did not award ranking points.
The WTA and ATP tours refrained from allocating points at the tournament after organizers barred players from Russia and Belarus from participating in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine.
Rybakina was born in Moscow but has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered her financial support for her tennis career.
Despite her status as a major champion, Rybakina had been out of the spotlight. Their first round match at Melbourne Park was held on small court 13 on Monday.
But his game is worthy of attention. As he showed it off to eliminate Swiatek at Rod Laver Arena.
Rybakina hit six aces and built a 24-15 advantage in winners against the 21-year-old Pole, who was a semifinalist a year ago in Australia. In the third round, Rybakina had thrown out 2022 runner-up Danielle Collins.
Until Sunday, Swiatek had dominated the tournament, winning every set he played and dropping just 15 games over three matches.
For his part, Gauff had lost just 19 games in three duels.
Ostapenko (17th) converted all three of her break chances, while Gauff capitalized on just one of eight.
