Iga Swiatek has admitted that it will be 'tricky' going up against Kaja Juvan in her third-round match at the US Open.

The world No. 1 and defending US Open champion has had a successful run so far at the last Grand Slam of the year in New York. Swiatek flew past Rebecca Peterson in the opening round with a commanding 6-0, 6-1 victory. She then went on to defeat Australia's Daria Saville 6-3, 6-4 to progress through to a third-round clash with Juvan.

Meanwhile, the Slovenian player came through qualifiers before defeating 29th seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-2, 7-5 in the first round before going on to win against American player Lauren Davis in three sets. 

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Swiatek described Juvan as her 'best friend'

The two friends have met twice before, with Swiatek leading their head-to-head 2-0. Speaking ahead of the match, the Polish player reflected on their previous matches.

"Well, I knew, but still it's hard to predict what's gonna happen. It doesn't really matter. We know how to keep it cool and we already played couple of times against each other. Last time in Roland Garros, 2021," she said.

"You know, I think we both can kind of cut off the off-court friendship and just play our game, and then we are friends back. At least there's nothing crazy is going to happen," she said.

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Swiatek added that it would still be 'tricky' as Juvan is one of her closest friends on the WTA Tour.

"But for sure she's, yeah, she's my best friend on tour. She's one of the most, like, honest and I think smart people on tour. I'm happy that she's my friend, but yeah, we've got to play against each other. It's a tricky situation, but I think we both know how to be professional and just play the match and that's all," she said.

The 22-year-old also talked about her match against Saville, saying she wanted to improve some things such as unforced errors.

"Well, I don't know. I just felt like I kind of prevailed, because that match wasn't easy. I'm just happy to be in the third round. For sure I want to improve some stuff, because I did some unforced errors. You know, it's just the beginning of the tournament, so for sure I work on some stuff, yeah," she explained.

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Iga Swiatek defeats Daria Saville 6-3 6-4 and advances to the third round of the #USOpen where she will play Kaja Juvan 💫

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