Iga Swiatek got the job done against Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets in a stunning way as the No. 3 seed came back from an early deficit to win 7-6 (2) 6-4 and reach the US Open round-of-16.
At the start of the match, 29th-seeded Kalinskaya was all over Swiatek, opening a comfortable 5-1 lead. But then, the Russian stunningly missed out on four set points in the eighth game, before also failing to serve out for the opener in the ninth game. In the 11th game, the No. 29 seed earned another break to go 6-5 up - but for the third time failed to close out the opener on her serve. She paid the ultimate price as the Pole took the opening five points of the tie-break before realizing her first set point.
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After stealing the first set from Kalinskaya, Swiatek registered a break late in the second set to give herself a chance to serve out for the match 5-4 - which she successfully did.
For a place in the US Open quarterfinal, the third-seeded Pole will play against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Swiatek's admission after beating Kalinskaya
When asked how she managed to make it past Kalinskaya in two sets, the 24-year-old admitted that even she didn't know how she managed to pull off such a comeback.
Oh, my God, I dont know. Honestly, Anna was playing great. She was getting all these risky balls in like she once did against me in Dubai. So, I just wanted to make less mistakes, because I felt like I was playing well. I felt like I had nothing to lose because I was losing pretty badly. So, at the end (of the first set) I just went for it, because what more can I do?" the six-time Grand Slam champion said afterward.
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Against her US Open rival Alexandrova, Swiatek owns a 4-2 head-to-head.
