"Feels great, feels really great" - Yulia Putintseva exults in taking out a World No. 1 on grass for the 2nd time after Iga Swiatek upset

Yulia Putintseva pulled off one of the biggest wins of her career on Saturday, taking out World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. Interestingly, this is the second time Putintseva has beaten a World No. 1 on grass, having previously downed Naomi Osaka at Birmingham in 2019.

Swiatek took the opening set against the Kazakh on Saturday, but just as the rain started to come down at SW19, Putintseva stepped on the gas to take her game to the next level. After 1-1 in the second set, it was the 29-year-old all the way, who rattled off 11 of the last 13 games to close the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Court No. 1.

Speaking at her on-court interview afterwards, Putintseva was elated, stating that it felt really great to knock out the top seed. As for her tactics, the World No. 41 emphasized that she focused on playing fast and not giving Swiatek any time on the ball, something her coach her asked her to.

Yulia Putintseva also recalled the win against Osaka, joking about how she thought about that during the match and wondered if her win was meant to be. Funnily enough, after beating Osaka at Birmingham, she took down the Japanese once again in a few days, this time at Wimbledon (first round) when she was ranked World No. 2.

“It feels great. It feels really great. I don’t know. I was so focused on just playing fast and not giving her time and that worked. So that’s pretty much it,” Yulia Putintseva said.

“The tactic was to just play my game, and my coach said to stay intense every point and that was working. I was thinking actually during the play that I beat the World No. 1 before on grass. I think it’s meant to be," she added.

"I’m just so happy right now that I played so good" - Yulia Putintseva on beating Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon

Day Six: The Championships - Wimbledon 2024

Yulia Putintseva then spoke about her 'fiery attitude' on the court as well, joking that she got it from her childhood as she was always fired up as a kid.

The Kazakh went on to thank the fans at Wimbledon for bringing her to life after she went down in the first set, hilariously adding that she did her best after that to entertain them with her shots during the match.

"My childhood. I was always really fired up as a kid. Honestly, I have no words. I’m just so happy right now that I played so good. You guys bring me back to life after the first set. Like really," Yulia Putintseva said.

"This is crazy guys. Thank you so, so much. It was a great energy from all of you today. I was feeling it on the court and that’s why I was like a fire. I was trying to entertain you more and more with my shots. I was taking energy from you guys," she added.

Following her win over Iga Swiatek, Yulia Putintseva will next take on former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round.