Iga Swiatek’s bid to complete the career Grand Slam at this year’s Australian Open was ended by Kazakh fifth seed Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Swiatek lost 7-5 6-1 as Rybakina used her power to devastating effect.
Swiatek, 24, can already be ranked among the greats, having won six major titles across all three different surfaces.
Mastering the Wimbledon grass last year – a tournament played on a surface considered her weakest – opened the door to attempting in Melbourne to become only the sixth woman in the Open era to win all four major titles.
Before the tournament, Swiatek acknowledged the achievement would be a “dream come true” but insisted she was blocking out the outside noise about what was at stake.
The quicker courts at Melbourne Park have historically led to Swiatek facing problems against aggressive opponents there.
Rybakina exploited that ruthlessly in Wednesday’s contest.
The 26-year-old, whose only major triumph so far came at Wimbledon in 2022, could not find rhythm with her serve in a first set which started with the pair exchanging breaks.
A low first-serve percentage of 41% was uncharacteristic, but Rybakina had enough pace and aggression in her groundstrokes to rush Swiatek.
That was demonstrated in the crucial 12th game, when Rybakina broke again to take the opening set.
Momentum stayed with Rybakina as she quickly took control of the second set.
In perfect 22C sunny conditions following Tuesday’s heatwave, her groundstrokes continued to fly through the court and Swiatek was unable to solve the problem facing her.
