Instead of a quarterfinal between Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff that many predicted, we’ll have a meeting between Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko in the final eight of the 2023 Australian Open.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Rybakina, who is ranked lower than she should be after receiving no ranking points for her triumph in London, dispatched top seed Swiatek 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 29 minutes. Between winning The Championships and entering this year’s Australian Open, Rybakina won just 14 of her 24 matches, but on Sunday in Melbourne she once again showed that she gets a boost on big stages and progressed to the quarterfinals here for the first time.