Iga Swiatek Opens Up After Falling to 0-6 Against Jelena Ostapenko

Iga Swiatek is still the queen of clay, but even her favorite court surface cannot save her from Jelena Ostapenko. On Saturday, Ostapenko defeated Swiatek in three sets: 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Not only did Ostapenko advance to the semifinal of the Stuttgart Open (called the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix), but she improved to 6-0 against Swiatek in head-to-head matches.

Ostapenko said after the match, "Every time I step on the court with her it's another battle, I'm ready for it. Even if I don't feel great on the day, I will just fight and leave it all on the court."

The former French Open champion added, "I tried to be aggressive today and take time away from her because when she has time, she's playing very well."

Swiatek cited Ostapenko's aggression as one of the reasons for her loss today when speaking with the media.

"Well, I think today was a tight match, so for sure I had my chances to win. Before, for sure, like, these matches were different," said Swiatek.

The five-time Grand Slam champion continued, "Like, she went for it and she was smashing every ball kind of perfectly. Today she didn't, she made some mistakes. I had my chances. I just didn't use them."

When asked about playing the match different from a tactical perspect, Swiatek said that was not the case.

"Honestly, I wasn't able to play anything before, like, any tactics. No, it was pretty simple, and I knew what I need to do. I did that in the second set, so it was just a matter of like, keeping it for the whole match," said Swiatek.

Swiatek is currently the WTA World No. 2 with a record of 22-7 with zero titles. Her next tournament is the Madrid Open where she is the defending champion.

Meanwhile, Ostapenko is the No. 24 with a record of 10-9. She will face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semifinal tomorrow morning.

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