By Shrivathsa Sridhar
PARIS, May 31 (Reuters) – Iga Swiatek’s 25th birthday celebrations turned sour at the French Open on Sunday as the former champion lost 7-5 6-1 to 15th seed Marta Kostyuk and her hunt for a fifth title ended just when she had looked to be rediscovering her form.
Swiatek’s shock loss comes amid a chaotic spell at Roland Garros, during which men’s world number one Jannik Sinner, 24-times Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and defending women’s champion Coco Gauff all went out in the last three days.
It leaves world number one Aryna Sabalenka as favourite to capture her first title in Paris, though Ukrainian Kostyuk will be one to watch as she builds on the momentum that has helped her sparkle on clay this season.
“I’m still in shock,” Kostyuk said in an on-court interview.
“I feel like I’ve given myself more space to just create something, to challenge my opponents. I woke up in the morning and all I thought was ‘what an unbelievable day I have to live today … there’s nothing I could do other than this’.
“I try not to focus at all on winning and losing, because I’m not playing tennis to win. I’m playing tennis because I love it. I want to connect to people, I want to feel this energy … make people happy and unite people.”
TOUGH DAY
It was a tough day for Swiatek, who forged her reputation as the Queen of Clay, as the Pole crashed to her earliest defeat at Roland Garros since her debut campaign in 2019.
Swiatek has now gone two years without claiming a title on the surface since her last triumph in Paris. She will now look to find her feet on grass quickly ahead of her Wimbledon title defence starting June 29.
“It wasn’t a good day in the office,” said Swiatek, whose form has been patchy throughout this season.
“Many things I could manage a bit better, but it was super tough for me today to keep the level that I wanted to. Obviously at this stage, any opponent in the fourth round who has already played couple of matches, will use the opportunity.
“So congratulations to Marta.”
The French Open will crown new champions in both the men’s and women’s draws for the first time since Djokovic and Garbine Muguruza triumphed a decade ago.
TIGHT HOLD
There was little separating Kostyuk and Swiatek in the early exchanges as they twice traded breaks, before the Ukrainian came up with a tight hold in the 11th game and raised her intensity to bag the first set with a backhand crosscourt winner.
It was the first time that Kostyuk had taken a set off the third-seeded Pole after three straight defeats in their previous meetings, and she sensed a big upset when she went ahead 3-1 in the next set after a battling effort.
The Rouen and Madrid champion held her nerve from there to take her record on clay this year to 15-0 on the tour, and book a meeting with seventh-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who beat Swiss Belinda Bencic 4-6 6-4 6-0.
“She’s paved the way for a lot of Ukrainian girls and boys, and she’s doing great,” Kostyuk said about Svitolina.
“And especially this year, she’s doing unbelievable. I’m so excited for this match. I’ve played with her two years ago, and I know a little bit what to expect.
“It’s going to be a good match.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Paris; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Ros Russell)
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