The defeat means Polish star will end her 75-week reign as women\u2019s world number one
\nNEW YORK
\nDefending champion Iga Swiatek was sent crashing out of the US Open on Sunday, losing in three sets to Latvia\u2019s 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko.
\nOstapenko fought back after losing the opening set to record a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory in 1hr 48min and will now face American sixth seed Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
\nThe defeat means Polish star Swiatek will end her 75-week reign as women\u2019s world number one when the rankings are updated after the US Open, with rival Aryna Sabalenka set to take over top spot.
\nOstapenko\u2019s victory also extends her unbeaten record against Swiatek after wins in all three of her previous meetings with her.
\n\u201cI always expect a tough battle against Iga, she\u2019s such a great player and won many Slams and is so consistent,\u201d Ostapenko said after her win on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
\n\u201cI knew I had to be aggressive and play my game because that\u2019s what she doesn\u2019t like.
\n\u201cI was just thinking that I have to play until the very last point, until we shake hands. I felt like I was playing better and didn\u2019t give her many chances.\u201d
\nSwiatek had cruised into the fourth round after not dropping a set in her first three matches, looking in prime form to defend the title she won last year.
\nOn Sunday she finally looked ready to score a first victory over Ostapenko, playing confidently to take the first set.
\nBut Ostapenko snatched an early break in the second set and then held for a 3-0 lead and Swiatek was always struggling thereafter.
\nShe managed to break Ostapenko and served to level at 4-4, but instead was broken again to give the Latvian a 5-3 lead.
\nOstapenko then survived a break point to close out the set at 6-3.
\nIn the third, Swiatek had no answer to Ostapenko as she broke the champion twice in the first three games to take 3-0 lead.
\nShe then broke Swiatek in the fifth game to go 5-0 ahead.
\nAlthough Ostapenko was broken as she served for the match, Swiatek again struggled on serve and was broken again to go tumbling out.
\nIn the mens event, Frances Tiafoe, the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone, set up a showdown with the big-serving Shelton with a confident 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Australia\u2019s Rinky Hijikata.
\nIt leaves 10th seed Tiafoe on course to emulate or better his performance at last year\u2019s US Open, where he lost a five-set semi-final thriller to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
\nFirst though he must navigate a way past the 20-year-old Shelton, who is coached by his father, African-American former professional Bryan Shelton.
\nShelton powered his way into the last eight on Sunday with a four-set defeat of 14th-seeded compatriot Tommy Paul.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be good. It\u2019s going to be a great atmosphere, I think great representation for people of color,\u201d Tiafoe said of his last eight meeting with Shelton.
\n\u201cTwo people of color playing in the quarter-finals … It\u2019s a pretty monumental moment.
\n\u201cI\u2019m pretty excited to compete against him. Hopefully it\u2019s a great battle.\u201d
\nTiafoe, who eliminated Rafael Nadal during his run to the last four last year, is relishing the challenge of facing Shelton on his favourite arena in tennis — Flushing Meadows\u2019 imposing Arthur Ashe Stadium.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s just an extremely loud player,\u201d Tiafoe said of Shelton. \u201cHits the ball big, serves huge, pretty much serving at 150mph today.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s yelling. He\u2019s got a lot of energy, so… He\u2019s great for the sport. It\u2019s cool to see a guy like that play.\u201d
\n\u201cFor me, I enjoy playing lefties. I like playing lefties. I\u2019m going to try to do a good job, make him play a lot of balls, just try to make it a really tough night for him.\u201d
\nTiafoe and Shelton were joined in the last eight on Sunday by another American, ninth seed Taylor Fritz.
\nTiafoe says win or lose on Tuesday, the result augurs well for men\u2019s tennis in the United States.
\n\u201cAt the end of the day I just want to go out there and win a tennis match,\u201d he said. \u201cThe bigger picture things, I think tennis is going to win. More important, an American is going to be in the semis.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The defeat means Polish star will end her 75-week reign as women\u2019s world number one NEW YORK Defending champion Iga Swiatek was sent crashing out of the US Open on Sunday, losing in three sets to Latvia\u2019s 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko. Ostapenko fought back after losing the opening set to record a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-353882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n