Page 14 - aruba-today-20230123

A14 sports
Monday 23 January 2023
Swiatek, Gauff lose at Australian Open; Korda in 1st Slam QF

ability or results because
her championship at the
All England Club in July did
not come with any ranking
points. The WTA and ATP
tours withheld all points at
Wimbledon in 2022 after
the All England Club barred
players from Russia and
Belarus from participating
because of the invasion of
Ukraine.
Rybakina — who was born
in Moscow but has played
for Kazakhstan since 2018,
when that country offered
her funding to support her
tennis career — said her
current standing “doesn’t
bother me, because it’s
been already six months,”
yet also acknowledged it
does provide some motiva-
tion.
Despite her status as a ma-
jor champion, Rybakina
has been out of the spot-
light: Her first-round match
at Melbourne Park was
placed on tiny Court 13
Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts as she plays against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during their fourth round match at the Australian last Monday; her match
Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. against two-time Slam
Associated Press champ Garbiñe Muguruza

By HOWARD FENDRICH French Open champion the 17th-seeded Ostapen- No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime at least year’s U.S. Open
AP Tennis Writer Jelena Ostapenko, a 7-5, ko, a 25-year-old from Lat- 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), and was on Court 4.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 6-3 winner against Gauff, via, made it this far in Mel- No. 18 Karen Khachanov But her game is worthy of
— It all came so seeming- with a semifinal berth at bourne for the first time. eased past No. 31 Yoshihito much more attention, as
ly easy for Iga Swiatek last stake. “There was moments in the Nishioka 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (4). she displayed in knocking
season — two Grand Slam “I kept her under so much match where I was getting Korda will meet Khacha- out Swiatek, one match af-
trophies, eight titles overall, pressure,” Ostapenko said. frustrated, because I nor- nov now, while Lehecka ter defeating 2022 Austra-
a 37-match winning streak, Add Swiatek’s loss to Week mally can problem-solve, takes on No. 3 Stefanos Tsit- lian Open runner-up Dani-
a lengthy stay at No. 1 in the 1 exits by Ons Jabeur, Ra- but today I feel like I didn’t sipas, who outlasted No. 15 elle Collins.
rankings.Those accomplish- fael Nadal and Casper have much answers to Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, Swiatek was not at her
ments made everyone else Ruud, and this Australian what she was doing,” said 4-6, 6-3 on Sunday night. best, and Rybakina had a
expect constant greatness Open marks the first Grand Gauff, an 18-year-old from Lehecka was 0-4 in Grand lot to do with that. In the
from Swiatek, which she Slam tournament in the Florida who was the runner- Slam matches until this opening game, Swiatek led
can’t do anything about. Open era — which began up to Swiatek at the French tournament, while Tsitsipas 40-love but got broken. In
They also changed the way in 1968 — with the top two Open last June. was the runner-up at the the next, Swiatek held two
she approached big mo- women’s seeds and top “There was balls I was hitting 2021 French Open and is break points at 15-40 but
ments, and a 6-4, 6-4 loss two men’s seeds all gone deep, and she was hitting a three-time semifinalist at failed to convert either. So
to Wimbledon champion before the quarterfinals. them on the line and hitting Melbourne Park. early on, while it ended up
Elena Rybakina in the Aus- In other women’s action them back deep, over and Until Sunday, both Swiatek being 2-2, it very well could
tralian Open’s fourth round Sunday, No. 3 Jessica Pe- over again,” said Gauff, and Gauff looked fairly have been 4-0 in Swiatek’s
Sunday made Swiatek gula got to the quarterfi- who wiped away tears dur- dominant for a week, win- favor, and she termed that
wonder whether she needs nals in Australia for the third ing her news conference. ning every set they con- sequence “a little bit dis-
to reassess her outlook. year in a row by defeating “It’s just one of those days tested. Swiatek dropped turbing.”
“I felt like I took a step back 2021 French Open champi- that just didn’t go my way a total of just 15 games, Rybakina wound up serving
in terms of how I approach on Barbora Krejcikova 7-5, and went her way.” Gauff just 19, through three out that set at love, cap-
these tournaments, and I 6-2. Pegula now plays 2012- Rybakina, meanwhile, used matches. ping it with a 113 mph (183
maybe wanted it a little bit 13 Australian Open cham- her big serve to produce a “For sure, when you play kph) ace, and her danger-
too hard. So I’m going to try pion Victoria Azarenka, half-dozen aces, part of an against No. 1, I think you ous backhand was quite
to chill out a little bit more,” who returned to the final overall 24-15 edge in total have really nothing to lose. a help, too: She produced
Swiatek said. “I felt the pres- eight at Melbourne Park winners against Swiatek. I knew that I had to be ag- six winners off that wing in
sure, and I felt that ‘I don’t for the first time since 2016 In men’s results, 22-year-old gressive from the first ball the first set, compared with
want to lose’ instead of ‘I by grabbing the last three American Sebastian Korda because she’s a great zero for Swiatek.
want to win.’” games of a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 vic- — whose father, Petr, won mover, and she defends In the second set, Swiatek
So there will not be a show- tory over 87th-ranked Zhu the 1998 Australian Open really well,” Rybakina said. appeared to have gotten
down between Swiatek Lin that ended at nearly — reached his first Grand “So I was trying to just at- herself back on track, going
and No. 7 seed Coco Gauff 2:20 a.m. on Monday. Slam quarterfinal by edging tack her from the first ball, up 3-0. But that surge didn’t
in the quarterfinals at Mel- Both the 22nd-seeded Ry- No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, and it really worked well.” last long, and Rybakina
bourne Park. Instead, it will bakina, a 23-year-old who 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7), un- Her ranking of No. 25 does took six of the match’s last
be Rybakina taking on 2017 represents Kazakhstan, and seeded Jiri Lehecka upset not properly reflect her seven games.q