Marta Kostyuk Upsets Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 for First French Open Quarterfinal as 16-Match Clay Run Grows
Updated
Updated · ESPN · May 31
Marta Kostyuk Upsets Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 for First French Open Quarterfinal as 16-Match Clay Run Grows
8 articles · Updated · ESPN · May 31
15th-ranked Marta Kostyuk reached her first French Open quarterfinal by beating four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 on the Pole's 25th birthday.
Swiatek unraveled after leading 5-4 in the first set, piling up double faults and unforced errors as Kostyuk's defense and baseline winners took over; the Ukrainian won the last five games.
The victory was a breakthrough for Kostyuk, who had lost all three previous meetings with Swiatek without taking a set and has now won 16 straight clay-court matches after titles in Madrid and Rouen.
Swiatek's earliest Roland Garros exit since 2019 guarantees a new women's champion in Paris; with Novak Djokovic already out, both singles draws will crown first-time champions this year.
Are the French Open's shock exits about champions falling or a resilient new generation finally rising?
With top players out and conditions worsening, is this the most unpredictable Grand Slam in a decade?
Beyond the upsets, do player protests and injuries signal a deeper crisis for professional tennis?