NEW YORK —Iga Swiatek did much to play down expectations ahead of the final Grand Slam of the season, but is starting to look like a favorite to take home her first US Open title after a thrilling comeback against Jule Niemeier, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.
Overawed by Niemeier’s immense talent in the opening set, Swiatek slowly got to work on Labor Day, ultimately wearing down the Wimbledon quarterfinalist to rally from a set and a break down to advance after two hours and 23 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Though Niemeier may not have been on the local fan radar ahead of her US Open main-draw debut, she came to Flushing Meadows with plenty of major momentum after reaching the last eight just over a month ago at SW19.
“In the first couple of matches against top players, I was hesitating a bit,” she reflected after defeating world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit early in the fortnight. “I thought I have to play something special. If you play those players, you just have to stay there. You have to play every point. You have to stay consistent, just focus on every point.
Employing a game that is equal parts power and finesse, the German didn’t drop a set through the first week—assuring herself a return to the Top 100 by scoring impressive wins over the likes of Sofia Kenin, Yulia Putintseva, and Zheng Qinwen to book a first meeting with Swiatek.
Swiatek had been similarly efficient to reach the second week, but entered the draw under a something of a cloud, having not won more than back-to-back matches at any tournament since her 37-match winning streak ended at Wimbledon. The Pole had also expressed repeated concern over the tournament’s uniquely light ball, which she felt left her at a tactical and even physical disadvantage.
“I want to really do my best to adjust and to learn because that's what tennis players have to do,” she said in her pre-tournament press conference. ‘We can talk about the balls, but still we have to play matches and have to adjust.”
While the top seed was able to adjust through a tight second set against Lauren Davis, she found Niemeier to be an entirely different challenge in the early goings on Armstrong, twice losing serve to drop the opening set in 42 minutes.
Broken again in the third game of the second, Swiatek made her first charge and reeled off three straight games but still had to deal with a persistent Niemeier, who continued pegging back her higher-ranked opposition.
Once Niemeier broke Swiatek when she served to force a decider, however, Swiatek shifted into turbo in some style, winning the final seven games of the match.
The result not only puts the 21-year-old into her third major quarterfinal of the season, but it also earns her a first last-eight finish in New York, putting her a strong Wimbledon away from achieving a box set of Grand Slam quarterfinal results.
