Marta Kostyuk reached the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time on Sunday by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.
Kostyuk, who is undefeated on clay this season, had lost their three previous matches and never taken a set against the former top-ranked player, who turned 25 on Sunday.
Swiatek’s loss guarantees a new French Open singles champion in the men’s and women’s draws; Novak Djokovic was the last former men’s champion standing before he was knocked out in the third round Thursday.
“To beat such an unbelievable player who won four times here, I’d lost [three] times to her, never taken a set off her, I still cannot believe it,” Kostyuk said. “I think the most important thing I’ve been doing is really just trying to enjoy. I woke up this morning and I just thought about what an unbelievable day I have to live today to play on Chatrier against Iga.”