by Day 7 started with plenty of drama as world no. 1 Iga Swiatek was defeated by Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in straight sets.
Things were already not going to plan for the Pole before even the first ball was served as the umpire handed her a code violation for time wasting leading to a delay in the match start. Though the pole won the coin toss, Rybakina broke serve immediately and was leading 0-2 after the first two games. More importantly though was the way that Swiatek lost the matches. She was leading the first game 40-0 and 40-15 and lost both. Iga held serve the second time around to get on the board and then followed it up with a break herself to tie the match to 2-2. Swiatek was in her stride at 3-3, but double faulted to set up a break point for Rybakina which she took with a powerhouse of a cross-court backhand. From 3-4 Rybakina only needed to hold serve which she calmly did in typical Rybakina fashion, and closed out the first set 4-6.
The world no. 1 started the second set well, holding serve and breaking immediately to get a healthy 3-0 lead in a set she needed to win. However, at this point Rybakina forced a momentum shift. She started serving aces and then broke right back with some nifty and well-placed direction changes. The pivotal match came when both held at 4-4, with Iga serving the game that got to deuce. Both players had a chance to take the it with advantage points going back and forth, but it was the Wimbledon champion who took the decisive lead, breaking to 4-5. At that point she only needed to serve out the match in which she served two aces.
It was a game of fine margins but Rybakina’s composure in big moments of the match was what set the difference and what allowed her to take both sets. Swiatek will rue the misses in the decisive moments of the match especially because she is a meticulous student of the sport. However, on the other side, nothing is to be taken away from Elena Rybakina who has proven that she can take on the pressure and serve some brilliant tennis. After all, if she could do this in a Wimbledon final against the world no.2, one should not be so surprised to see her do this at the round of 16 in the Aussie Open against the world no. 1.
Who does Rybakina play in the Quarter-Final?
The other side of the bracket served up another upset as Latvian Jelena Ostapenko beat American Coco Gauff in straight sets. Though Ostapenko is already a grand-slam winner, Gauff was having a great start to the season having one the Auckland trophy. The American will be disappointed with how she lost the match, her first serve barely touched the 50% mark and perhaps her play lacked the intensity necessary to close out games with just 13% of break points won against Ostapenko’s perfect record in the match. However, one must take nothing away from Ostapenko who was lethal. She opened the court with every little chance she got and applied pressure on the young Gauff incessantly, disrupting her from getting into any rhythm.
The quarter-final between Ostapenko and Rybakina is nicely poised as both are heavy hitters and use change of direction to disrupt their opponent. It must be said that the two round of 16 matches were played at the same time and in similar hot conditions which favoured both these players, who like to hit hard and flat. It will be interesting how they intend to disrupt each other.
The two have met twice before and Ostapenko leads the duel 2-0. However, the Latvian is known for being erratic at times which favours Rybakina who is the more composed of the two, and who grown a lot as a competitor since their last meeting in 2021. The quarter-final will be played on Tuesday 24th January.
