Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Iga Swiatek’s 25th birthday celebrations turned into a complete nightmare at the French Open on Sunday. The four-time champion’s bid for a fifth Roland Garros title hopes crashed and burned in the last 16, losing 7-5, 6-1 to Ukrainian 15th seed Marta Kostyuk.
The shock result caps off an incredibly chaotic period in Paris. Over the last three days alone, the tournament has descended into pure unpredictability after men’s World No.1 Jannik Sinner, 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, and defending women’s champion Coco Gauff were all dumped out. Swiatek’s exit officially guarantees that a brand-new champion will hoist the trophy in both the men’s and women’s singles draws this year.
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CHAOS IN PARIS
Initially, there was little to separate the two in the opening exchanges as they twice traded breaks on Court Philippe-Chatrier. However, Kostyuk produced a crucial hold in the 11th game before raising her level at the absolute end to claim the opening set with a brilliant backhand crosscourt winner.
It marked the first time that Kostyuk had ever taken a set off the third-seeded Pole after three straight defeats in their previous meetings. Sensing a massive upset, the Ukrainian capitalised on the heavy shift in momentum, breaking early in the second set to storm ahead 3-1, leaving the birthday girl entirely out of answers.
SOAKING IT IN
The exact moment Marta Kostyuk beat Iga Swiatek to reach her first-ever Roland Garros quarterfinal, she threw her arms high in the air. Playing the absolute best tennis of her young life, she stood on the red clay to soak in the roaring applause. With this stunning upset, Kostyuk extended her flawless clay-court record this season to an incredible 15-0, building on the dominant form that previously earned her titles in Rouen and Madrid.
“I’m still in shock,” Kostyuk confessed during her emotional 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.'”
PLAYING FOR LOVE
After the match, Kostyuk shared a beautiful, grounded perspective on what the career-defining victory meant to her, beyond just advancing in the bracket.
“I try not to focus at all on winning and losing, because I’m not playing tennis to win,” she said warmly. “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.”
With Swiatek and Gauff officially out of the equation, world number one Aryna Sabalenka now stands as the heavy favourite to claim her maiden title in Paris. However, Kostyuk’s sparkling momentum makes her the ultimate player to watch. She now advances to a highly anticipated quarterfinal meeting against either the seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina or the 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
