Usually Iga Swiatek is the one dishing out the bagels.
In recent years, the five-time major champion has become known for the ruthless manner of her victories, subjecting many opponents to the ultimate embarrassment of losing a set without winning a game.
Now 23-year-old Swiatek finds herself in the position of being on the wrong end of a 6-0 scoreline – having lost to Jelena Ostapenko for the sixth time in a row.
Ostapenko extended her flawless head-to-head record against the world number two in the Stuttgart quarter-finals on Saturday.
So what’s behind the one-sided results?
Having won the 2017 French Open, Ostapenko certainly has the pedigree and her explosive ball-bashing – when it works, and the winners outweigh the unforced errors – can have devastating consequences.
Swiatek has encountered trouble against aggressive ball-strikers, too, so that adds further weight to the explanation.
You also wonder whether there is a mental block against an opponent who a player knows has their number.
Swiatek disputed that afterwards, saying her head “was much more clear” against Ostapenko in Stuttgart than her previous defeats.
While the agony was prolonged in Stuttgart, you can’t imagine a player of Swiatek’s quality will suffer a career-spanning hex.
There is a long way to go until Swiatek enters the conversation of being on the receiving end of the most dominant head-to-head record.
Gael Monfils has lost all 20 of his matches (so far) against Novak Djokovic, while Richard Gasquet’s 18-0 record against Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer’s 14-0 against Roger Federer are other notable lopsided match-ups in recent years.
In fact, Swiatek could shake off the hex as early as next week, with Ostapenko slated to be a prospective last-16 opponent in Madrid.
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