The first week of the US Open ended – just before midnight – with an upset that was, truth be told, not much of an upset.
Iga Swiatek knew long before Sunday night that Jelena Ostapenko was big trouble, and her concerns were reconfirmed as Ostapenko delivered a double knockout.
Her resounding, late-night 3-6 6-3 6-1 victory not only ended Swiatek’s title defense in the fourth round. It also guaranteed the end of Swiatek’s 75-week run at No. 1.
Ostapenko, a sturdy Latvian, has many talents. I once watched her box and ballroom dance in the same day in her home city of Riga (I also experienced her driving, which is another story). But Ostapenko does nothing better than pound innocent tennis balls into submission.