Top-ranked Iga Swiatek was dethroned as US Open champion after suffering a shock 3-6 6-3 6-1 defeat to Jelena Ostapenko on Sunday night at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Defeat for Swiatek also means her 75-week stay at No. 1 in the WTA rankings will end next week when Aryna Sabalenka will rise to the top spot for the first time.
In a baseline tug-of-war, there was an early exchange of breaks before Swiatek landed a flat cross-court passing shot for a 4-2 lead. The Pole soon closed out the 39-minute opener, and everything appeared to be going according to plan.
Latvian Ostapenko made a terrific start to the second set, storming into a 4-1 lead but then wavered, allowing Swiatek to get a break back and pull within 4-3.
But that proved to be only a blip; with Swiatek having trouble serving, the contest quickly tilted in one direction as Ostapenko reeled off seven consecutive games in a row to level the contest before flying to a 5-0 lead in the third set.
Ostapenko fired a crisp forehand winner to break her opponent's serve on match point, pumping her fist in delight.
