Jelena Ostapenko maintained her flawless record against Iga Swiatek with a gritty three-set win in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The Latvian outpowered the second seed 6-3 3-6 6-2, extending her head-to-head lead to a jaw-dropping 6-0.
Swiatek entered the clash with an imposing 11-1 record at the tournament, having lifted the Stuttgart title in 2022 and 2023. But even on her favored clay, the former world No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion couldn’t solve the Ostapenko puzzle.
With this latest triumph, Ostapenko becomes the only player to have beaten Swiatek on all three surfaces—once on grass, four times on hard court, and now, for the first time, on clay. A Roland Garros champion herself in 2017, Ostapenko is no stranger to the dirt, and she showed her full range of weapons on Saturday.
Swiatek’s struggles against Ostapenko’s powerful groundstrokes continued, with the Latvian rushing her forehand and drawing out costly errors—just as she has in every one of their prior meetings. Ostapenko converted all three of her break opportunities in the opening set and seized control early in the decider, winning 12 of the first 15 points.
Up next, Ostapenko faces Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, who upset third seed Jessica Pegula 6-0 6-4 to book her place in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The other semifinal will feature top seed Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Elise Mertens 6-4 6-1 in her first match of the tournament, against fifth seed Jasmine Paolini, who eliminated fourth seed Coco Gauff in the last quarterfinal 6-4 6-3.
