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Jelena Ostapenko suggests all the pressure will be on world No 1 Iga Swiatek when they meet at the US Open and the Latvian warns the Pole she will try to use that to her advantage. Ostapenko, ranked at No 21 in the world, is set to meet No 1 seed and defending champion Swiatek in the US Open round-of-16. "She's playing quite consistent.
She's winning a lot of matches. It's also not easy to be No 1 because everybody obviously wants to beat you. I probably will take advantage of that," Ostapenko said.
Ostapenko on how she plans to play against Swiatek
Going into the match, Ostapenko says she simply plans to focus on her game and try to do her very best.
"I'm just going to play my game and focus more on myself. For sure it's going to be a difficult match. On the other hand I have nothing to lose and I'm already in the fourth round. I think it's a good achievement, especially at the end of the year.
I'm just going to play my best. I think it's, of course, easier to play when you are not the favorite because, especially these three matches that I played, I was the favorite. You have a little bit more extra pressure because you understand that everybody expects you to win.
So maybe that's why it was little bit like a roller coaster. But I think now I can play free because it's great to be in the fourth round, yeah, just enjoy it," Ostapenko said. When Ostapenko and Swiatek meet at the US Open, it will be their fourth meeting.
So far, Ostapenko has had three wins and zero losses against Swiatek. However, it should be noted that they haven't met since Swiatek became the world No 1 in 2022 April. Ostapenko beat Swiatek in 2019 Birmingham - 2021 Indian Wells - and in 2022 February in Dubai.