By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Iga Swiatek dug her heels in to get past Czech Marie Bouzkova 7-6(3) 7-6(3) and reach the U.S. Open fourth round on Saturday, keeping her critic-quietening campaign alive to set up a clash with China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
Poland’s 2022 winner arrived in New York amid the most difficult season of her career but had plenty of fight left as she broke down her opponent with 18 forehand winners.
“It got pretty physical, many long rallies,” said 25-year-old Swiatek. “It wasn’t easy.”
The two players traded breaks twice in the first four games before settling into a tightly fought contest.
Bouzkova sent a precise shot into the far corner to break Swiatek in the 11th game but the Pole broke back to level it with an unreturnable backhand.
Swiatek eased concerns over her form last month with a win in Toronto and moved with clinical precision through the tiebreak. Bouzkova did herself no favours with an early double fault.
The Pole clawed her way back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set and saved three set points on serve in a marathon, five-deuce 12th game, refusing to become another favourite ousted on a day of major upsets in the men’s and women’s draws.
“When I was saving these set points … I had my serve, and she played this amazing backhand down the line, really low,” said Swiatek. “I was, like, well, you know, hopefully I’m going to have chances to get this set back. I just focused on using them when I did. I’m happy that I did that.”
Swiatek got a three-point head start in the tiebreak and eventually subdued Bouzkova with her backhand on match point.
“I’m happy that I raised my level in both tiebreaks to close it because I feel that was important. I think it was a good match,” she added.
Swiatek next faces qualifier Zheng in a rematch of their Olympic semi-final two years ago, where the Chinese player ended the Pole’s 25-match winning streak in dramatic fashion.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
