US Open 2023: Iga Swiatek vs Jelena Ostapenko preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Iga Swiatek vs (20) Jelena Ostapenko
Date: September 3, 2023
Tournament: US Open 2023
Round: Fourth round (Round of 16)
Venue: New York, United States
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $65,000,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN | Canada - TSN | UK - Sky Sports | India - Sony Sports
Iga Swiatek vs Jelena Ostapenko preview
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will take on 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round of the 2023 US Open on Sunday (September 3).
Swiatek kicked off her title defense with straight-sets wins over Rebecca Peterson and Daria Saville. She faced her good friend Kaja Juvan in the third round but didn't go easy on her because of their off-court relationship. The defending champion was at her ruthless best as she notched up a 6-0, 6-1 win.
Ostapenko, meanwhile, needed three sets to get past each of Jasmine Paolini and Elina Avanesyan to reach the third round. She was next up against home favorite Bernarda Pera for a spot in the fourth round.
Ostapenko struck first in the opening set to go 2-0 up but let go of her advantage immediately. Pera then snagged another break towards the end of the set to clinch it. The Latvian once again led by a break in the second set, but her opponent managed to get back on serve.
Ostapenko secured another break of serve to go 5-3 up and served out the set in the following game to level the proceedings. She raced to a 5-1 lead in the deciding set but stumbled while trying to close out the match. However, she broke Pera's serve to get the job done with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.
Iga Swiatek vs Jelena Ostapenko head-to-head
Ostapenko leads Swiatek 3-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships in three sets.
Iga Swiatek vs Jelena Ostapenko odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Iga Swiatek vs Jelena Ostapenko prediction
Swiatek lost just one game in her last match and did the same in the first round as well. Ostapenko, on the other hand, has been pushed to three sets in all of her matches here so far.
The Latvian's serve has been letting her down quite often. She has coughed up 29 double faults across her three matches and lets her opponents pick apart her second serve when she manages to get it in play.
Ostapenko also hit twice as many unforced errors compared to winners in the previous round. But if there's anyone who can come out on top after spraying a ton of errors, it's her. She committed 80 of them during her second-round win over Avanesyan while striking 58 winners.
Swiatek's well-rounded game has so far failed to keep up with Ostapenko's big-hitting, as the latter has blown her off the court. However, considering their contrasting form and the Latvian's poor record at the US Open, the defending champion has a good shot at notching up her first win in this rivalry.
Pick: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.