Iga Swiatek found herself in some unexpected drama against Suzan Lamens but ultimately managed to avoid a shock US Open second-round defeat after sealing a 6-1 4-6 6-4 win over the world No. 66 in just over two hours of play.
The recent Cincinnati Open winner, who entered the Lamens match riding a six-match winning streak, made a strong start and easily bagged the opening set with breaks in the second and sixth games.
The start of the second set didn't bring anything surprising since Swiatek earned a break in the third game. Up by a set and a break, that's when the problems started for the No. 2 seed. Firstly, the Pole blew her first break of the second set. Then, the former world No. 1 earned another one - and again blew it. After twice coming back from a break down, Lamens collected her third break of the set in the ninth game to open a 5-4 lead before serving out for the set in the following game.
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Swiatek bounced back at the start of the decider, winning four games in a row to go 4-1 up. While the Polish tennis giant blew one break and also missed out on a match point on Lamens' serve in the ninth game, she didn't panic and routinely closed out the match on her serve in the 10th game.
Who is Swiatek's next US Open rival?
For a place in the US Open round-of-16, Swiatek will play against No. 29 seed Anna Kalinskaya, who defeated Yulia Putintseva today. Against Kalinskaya, the Pole has a win and a loss - the Russian won their first meeting in Dubai last year before the six-time Grand Slam champion got her revenge in Cincinnati earlier this month.
Although Swiatek struggled today against Lamens, there is no doubt that she is still the big favorite to beat Kalinskaya and make thesecond week at Flushing Meadows.
