Ostapenko Ousts Swiatek, Svitolina, Fernandez Fall As Upsets Continue At Indian Wells

The quarterfinals are set at the Indian Wells Masters and only one Top 10 seed — No. 10 Angelique Kerber — reached the last eight as upsets have reigned.

Yesterday saw two more Top 5 seeds fall. In a battle of former French Open winners, Jelena Ostapenko knocked out Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-3.

The error-prone Ostapenko was finished +4 winners to errors on the day in picking up one her of best wins of 2021.

“I think I played very well. I didn’t give her any chances to play, because I think I was playing very aggressive and took the time away from her so she couldn’t do much against me,” Ostapenko said. “That was just the plan for the game, just to play my game and be aggressive, and I think I did it pretty well today.”

The Latvian will face the surprising Shelby Rogers who continued to pull upsets. Rogers, who stunned Ash Barty at the US Open, edged the runner-up from New York, Leylah Fernandez, if a final set breaker 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) in 2 hours, 34 minutes.

“I thought it was an incredible battle today,” Rogers said. “I thought we both played really well at times, and it was a sort of tug-of-war kind of match, one that’s really fun to play actually. It’s a special sort of challenge.

“The crowd was into it on both sides. They wanted good tennis. They wanted more tennis. So I’m just really happy to come through that one and overcome some emotional and mental battles during that match and beat someone that’s playing really well.”

Rogers and Ostapenko will meet today in the quarterfinals.

Rogers isn’t the only American still alive, Jessica Pegula reached the last eight as well. Pegula blew past an ailing Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-1 in just 68 minutes. The Ukraine was dealing with am upper leg issue.

“I think I played really solid with not a lot of errors, was getting a lot of really good depth on my balls, was coming in when I needed to, serving well when I needed to,” Pegula told the crowd.

Pegula will meet former champion Victoria Azarenka also today. Azarenka returned to the quarters cruising past giant-killer Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 6-4.

In the top half, the highest remaining seed, Kerber, rolled over Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-1. She’ll take on Paula Badosa. The Spaniard is making her mark on the hard court upsetting French champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-1, 7-5.

“I think I played a pretty good match today,” said Badosa. “I knew I had to play on a high level against Barbora. She’s an amazing player, very talented. We played before so I knew what I was going to find there on court. I’m feeling good and I’m very happy that I could play my best today.”

Anett Kontaveit and Ons Jabeur also advanced easily to a Thursday quarterfinal showdown.

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