The WTA Tour hosted two tournaments last week in Stuttgart and Rouen, with Jelena Ostapenko and Elina Svitolina the respective champions.
Ostapenko made history in Stuttgart, after beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final to win her first clay court title since Roland Garros in 2017.
Despite being opponents for the final of the WTA 500 tournament, Ostapenko had warm words for Sabalenka after the match.
Sabalenka was not the only top five player that the Latvian beat in Stuttgart, as Ostapenko continued her dominance over Iga Swiatek.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty ImagesSam Querrey says what is happening on the WTA Tour that he has never seen before
Ostapenko beat Swiatek, 6-3 3-6 6-2, in the Stuttgart quarter-final to win their first ever meeting on clay.
While this was their first ever meeting on the dirt, it was the sixth time that Ostapenko had beaten Swiatek in as many meetings.
When discussing this one-sided head-to-head, former world number 11 Sam Querrey admitted that he had never seen anything like this before.
“This takes the cake. I have never seen this before,” Querrey said on the Nothing Major Podcast. “Ostapenko is ranked 24 right now. It’s not like she has been top five for the last few years.
“It’s one thing if the player ranked three is 5 or 6-0 against the player ranked two. But this is a player ranked between 15 and 30 who is 6-0 against the player who has been ranked one or two for the last five years.
“It’s so weird, so odd. I have never seen anything like it. She has the mental edge over Swiatek. I feel like it this point Swiatek doesn’t feel like she can beat her and it’s just an anomaly that I have never seen.”
There have been other surprisingly lopsided head-to-head’s over the years, including Serena Williams’ dominance over Maria Sharapova (21-3), and Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten record against Richard Gasquet (18-0).
While these are two of the more well known rivalries over the years, Steve Johnson and John Isner named two of the more under the radar head-to-head’s in tennis history.
“I have got one for you on the men’s side,” said Johnson. “In a two year stretch from 2012 to 2014. Berdych has a 12-0 record against Kevin Anderson. 12-0 is pretty crazy!”
Isner responded by naming his own kryptonite, “For me I was 0-6 against Jeremy Chardy. Nobody talk.”
When could Iga Swiatek and Jelena Ostapenko play again?
Although they have only just played their first match on clay against one another, an opportunity has already appeared for Swiatek and Ostapenko to add a new chapter in their rivalry.
After the draw was made for the Madrid Open, fans were quick to express their excitement at a potential fourth round match between Swiatek and Ostapenko.
However, it will not be easy for both players to get there, with some tricky opponents coming before that encounter.
Ostapenko will play either former Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or compatriot Anastasija Sevastova in her opening match.
If she is able to come through that then she could face either 13th seed Diana Shnaider or three-time Madrid Open champion Petra Kvitova in the third round.
While Ostapenko is unsure yet as to exactly who her first opponent will be, Swiatek is confirmed to play Alexandra Eala, who beat her at the Miami Open just last month.
Then it could be a third round meeting with another player who has previously caused Swiatek problems, Linda Noskova, before a potential fourth round match against Ostapenko.
Swiatek beat Sabalenka in a thrilling Madrid final last year, but will have to do something different to recent tournaments if she is to reclaim her crown.