"Iga Swiatek's team can drink to that" - Tennis fans react as Pole's French Open draw falls apart with Jelena Ostapenko, Danielle Collins' departure
Tennis fans reacted to Iga Swiatek's 2024 French Open draw getting much more favorable for her after Jelena Ostapenko and Danielle Collins were eliminated from the tournament. The Pole has advanced to the third round at Roland Garros, while both Ostapenko and Collins were defeated in the second round.
Two-time defending champion and top seed, Swiatek kicked off her campaign in Paris with a dominant victory over qualifier Leolia Jeanjean, winning 6-1, 6-2 in the first round. She then faced a tough challenge against Naomi Osaka, ultimately triumphing 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-5 to advance to the third round of the clay court Major.
In contrast, 11th seed Danielle Collins secured a solid victory over compatriot Caroline Dolehide in the first round with a score of 6-3, 6-4 but was unable to maintain her momentum and suffered a 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4 defeat to qualifier Olga Danilovic in a closely contested second-round match.
Similarly, ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko started her campaign with a win against Jaqueline Cristian, prevailing 6-4, 7-5 in the first round, but lost 6-7(4), 6-4, 3-6 to Clara Tauson in the second.
The unexpected defeat of Jelena Ostapenko to Clara Tauson surprised tennis fans. They took to social media to share their opinions on the same.
Many fans noted that with Ostapenko and Collins out of the tournament, Iga Swiatek's path to the championship match has significantly opened up, so they stated that the World No.1's team must be rejoicing as her path to the final has become much more easier.
"[Jelena Osta-]penko and [Danielle] Collins out one by one - [Iga] Swiatek team can drink to that," a fan posted on Reddit.
Some fans even declared Swiatek the likely winner of the French Open.
"Iga [Swiatek] stocks rising," another fan said.
"Well, congratulations Iga for winning the French Open," a third fan wrote.
One fan claimed that the only exciting matchup on Iga Swiatek's road to the final can be her probable match against Coco Gauff in the final four.
"The top half is already basically just Swiatek and Gauff lol. Not exactly the most exciting matchup those two have either. Feels like the players ranked from 8-12 are actually closer to #50 than to #1-4," the fan said.
Iga Swiatek will face Marie Bouzkova in the third round
Iga Swiatek will go up against Marie Bouzkova in the third round of the 2024 French Open.
Bouzkova, who is unseeded, kicked off her Roland Garros campaign by defeating the 29th seed Veronika Kudermetova with a score of 6-2, 6-4 in the first round. She then went on to defeat lucky loser Jana Fett with a score of 6-2, 6-2 to enter the third round where she will be facing the World No.1.
This upcoming match between Iga Swiatek and Marie Bouzkova at the French Open will mark their first-ever encounter on the WTA Tour. The winner of this match will go on to face either Anastasia Potapova or Wang Xinyu in the fourth round.