New York (AFP) – Iga Swiatek battled into the third round of the US Open on Thursday, needing three sets to edge past the Netherlands’ lowly ranked Suzan Lamens. Second seed Swiatek advanced to a meeting against Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory in two hours and six minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
The Polish ace — the pre-tournament betting favourite — had looked to be romping through to the next round after rattling through the opening set in 30 minutes. Swiatek then appeared poised to wrap up a straightforward win after breaking Lamens for a 4-3 lead in the second set.
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Yet Lamens, the world number 66, broke back immediately to make it 4-4 when Swiatek double-faulted on break point in the next game. Lamens held serve and then broke Swiatek for the third time in the match to take the set and force a decider.
Lamens’ fightback though ran out of steam in the third, with Swiatek going a double break up for a 4-1 lead, before closing out victory.
“It wasn’t an easy match. I did some mistakes,” Swiatek said after her win. “I felt like it depended on me and if I made mistakes or not, sometimes I did. I probably got a little tight in the second set. Third set is a reset and you’ve got to start from the beginning.”
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