Ostapenko on Chaos Court 17

By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Friday, September 1, 2023

NEW YORK—Court 17 is Chaos Court for some standouts throughout this US Open.

Jelena Ostapenko mastered the mayhem beating American Bernarda Pera 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to arrange a US Open fourth spherical conflict vs. world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

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In the aftermath of Alexander Zverev’s US Open straight-sets first spherical win, he stated cozy Court 17 smelled like rapper Snoop Dogg’s home after a continual session.

“The whole court smells like weed,” Zverev stated. “Court 17 definitely smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room.”

The Olympic gold-medal champion remarks got here after eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari, who was upset within the opening spherical, additionally cited the odor of marijuana coming from Flushing Meadows Corona park throughout her first-round match on Court 17.

Today, Ostapenko stated the odor of weed wasn’t a problem—she’s come to anticipate that—quite it was a loud fan yelling earlier than the Latvian served that aggravated the flamable No. 20 seed.

“With the weed, it’s a normal thing. Every match I smell it,” Ostapenko stated. “It’s not a surprise they were complaining about.

“But, yeah, this fan, I used to be main 4-1 within the third set, after which abruptly I served a serve and he began to shout like loopy. Yeah, not like one or two phrases, I feel two sentences in a row. Of course, the chair umpire advised him to be quiet.”

The 2017 Roland Garros champion will seek calmer conditions when she faces reigning champion Iga Swiatek for a quarterfinal spot.

Ostapenko is 3-0 lifetime vs. Swiatek, including squeezing out a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) in the 2022 Dubai round of 16.

“With Jelena, it is a bit of bit like in the future she will play an ideal match and simply put all the things in regardless that she’s actually risking, and the opposite day might be completely different,” said Swiatek, who has dropped just nine games through three rounds. “You by no means know what to anticipate. But I form of settle for that, you understand, all these gamers they’re going to play the most effective tennis in opposition to me. I felt that couple instances already.

“It’s not easy against her. We played a really tight match two years ago in Dubai. For sure I’m getting close.”

Photo credit score: Robert Prange/Getty