"At 5–1 down it’s easy to panic—and I didn’t" - Iga Swiatek shares problem-solving skills utilised in comeback win over Anna Kalinskaya

Iga Swiatek booked her place in the round of 16 in the US Open after coming back from a tough start to defeat Anna Kalinskaya 7-6, 6-4 in a closely fought affair. This was the second meeting in short succession after Swiatek got the better of the Russian in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago.

The Pole had a lethargic start, losing five games on the bounce to find herself 5-1 down, but a resounding reaction saw her level up at 6-6, before comfortably sealing the tiebreak. The 2022 US Open champion started the second set with a break of serve, before being instantly pegged back. Swiatek stayed firm and managed to nab a break to make it 5-4, and swiftly concluded the tie with her first match point.

In her press conference after the victory, she said: "Yeah, well, for sure it wasn't an easy match, especially after the beginning. I'm happy that I came back and started playing better, because I for sure did some mistakes in the beginning of the first set that I wish didn’t happen. But also, Anna played great. So yeah, I'm happy that I came back, kept being positive, and figured things out—problem-solving."

The six-time Grand Slam champion started on the backfoot, but managed to use her class and expereince to claw her way back into the tie. "Well, honestly, I feel like I played good, but I did some mistakes when I wanted to kind of close the rally when the ball was easier," Swiatek said. "I played too long sometimes, so I knew that there’s not a lot I needed to change. But for sure, I wanted to keep the margins—to not make these unforced errors. I just focused on like two technical things that I figured out might help me, and it started being a bit better. I made fewer mistakes and also gave her a chance to make some mistakes. Then the set got tight, so I knew I could just fight for it, you know, when we were even with the score."

"Sometimes—and at some point today as well—I felt like I didn’t know what to change. But then my team helped me a bit, and you're at a point where you just don’t have another choice. I don't know—keep the margins, try to put one more ball in, maybe not go for the winner. So it’s not easy sometimes to find the solutions and to find the exact thing that will help you. It takes time sometimes. But yeah, for sure, you need to have your mind open enough to think about what you can do. And today was a pretty good day in terms of that because, you know, at 5–1 or something, it’s easy to panic—and I didn’t, so that’s good."

She touched on service issues she experienced in that first set: "Well, usually it is, but I don’t know why—I kind of didn’t notice today. I already got asked about this, and yeah, I didn’t notice that my service percentage was low. Sometimes I felt like I was maybe going too much for it—like maybe risking it in terms of picking the spots. So I guess I tried to work on that and, on one hand, play it more safe, but on the other hand, you can’t do that because your opponent will use it. So I tried to balance that. I had no idea what the percentage was—and maybe that’s good."

Swiatek explained what her team shared with her in an attempt to improve her game and get back on track. "To be honest, they were talking to me all the time throughout the match, so I don’t know what exactly happened in the 1–5 situation. But I think it was something about my backhand. Throughout the match, I was just trying to watch my technique."

Swiatek revealed that she had to get used to the conditions. She was the last on Arthur Ashe Stadium, and was at first affected by the lights and atmosphere, stating that it felt like an 'over-the-home match'. "Yes, it was an over-the-home match," she said. "I think I had to get used to the light and the different atmosphere on the court, but when it comes to the conditions, it seemed similar."

The world number two will face another Russian in her last 16 match, with Ekaterina Alexandrova her next obstacle in the way of a second Flushing Meadows triumph.