Iga Swiatek battled into the third round of the US Open on Thursday, needing three sets to edge past the Netherlands' lowly ranked Suzan Lamens.
Second seed Swiatek advanced to a meeting against Russia's Anna Kalinskaya with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, victory in two hours and six minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
The Polish ace – the pre-tournament betting favourite – had looked to be romping through to the next round after rattling through the opening set in 30 minutes.
Swiatek then appeared poised to wrap up a straightforward win after breaking Lamens for a 4-3 lead in the second set.
Yet Lamens, the world number 66, broke back immediately to make it 4-4 when Swiatek double-faulted on break point in the next game.
Lamens held serve and then broke Swiatek for the third time in the match to take the set and force a decider.
Lamens' fightback though ran out of steam in the third, with Swiatek going a double break up for a 4-1 lead, before closing out victory.
Battle-tested.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2025
Iga Swiatek fights off a brilliant effort from Lamens to keep her US Open bid alive! pic.twitter.com/YBy4XIxH8N
"It wasn't an easy match. I did some mistakes," Swiatek said after her win.
"I felt like it depended on me and if I made mistakes or not, sometimes I did. I probably got a little tight in the second set. Third set is a reset and you've got to start from the beginning."
OSAKA BREEZES THROUGH
Japan's Naomi Osaka raced into the third round as she blew past American Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 in 70 minutes.
Two-time former US Open champion Osaka broke her 47th-ranked opponent five times as she matched her best Grand Slam run since winning the last of her four major titles in Melbourne four years ago.
The two-time US Open champ advances to Round 3 with a straight-sets victory! pic.twitter.com/SgyI7QbTU7
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2025
Osaka, the 23rd seed, will play Australian 15th seed Daria Kasatkina or Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova on Saturday for a place in the last 16.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Linda Noskova were among other women's seeds to advance.
BILES' PRESENCE HELPS GAUFF WIN US OPEN CRYING GAME
Coco Gauff said the presence of Olympic gymnastics legend Simone Biles at courtside helped her through the worst experience of her tennis career as she battled to a tearful US Open victory over Donna Vekic on Thursday.
Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Biles was among the crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium as third seed Gauff suffered an error-strewn public unravelling that left her sobbing into her towel at one point in a calamitous first set.
It's a volley winner for Coco and a smile for Simone Biles! pic.twitter.com/yPX0OPaFEM
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2025
But the 21-year-old American clawed her way through that nadir and regrouped to complete a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory to advance to the third round.
Gauff later revealed that the sight of Biles, who withdrew from several events at the Tokyo Olympics to prioritise her mental health, before making a triumphant comeback at last year's Paris Games, had inspired her.
When it mattered most on Thursday night, @CocoGauff drew inspiration from @Simone_Biles who was in attendance. pic.twitter.com/3BiNBfXLhu
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2025
"I mean she's the greatest, one of the greatest athletes," Gauff said after her victory.
"It's her and Serena (Williams) for me on my Mount Rushmore of athletes. I think everything that she went through on the mental side of things in the sport, it's something I follow closely and try to learn from. To see her there tonight kind of gave me a reminder that I needed," added Gauff, who spoke with Biles after her win.
"I saw her being interviewed and I was just thinking if she can go on a six-inch wide beam and perform with all the things she's gone through, I can come out here on court and hit a ball. Her presence helped me today.
"I was lucky to just came from talking to her, so I was able to tell her that in person," she said.
Gauff's preparations for the US Open were thrown into disarray just days before the tournament when she shook up her coaching team and brought in biomechanics guru Gavin MacMillan to rebuild her faltering serve.
But after an erratic first round win, when she finished with a whopping 59 unforced errors and 10 double faults, Gauff once again found the going tough on Thursday.
Gauff was broken four times in the first set and looked distraught as she struggled to get to grips with her game.
But she settled impressively after winning a first set tie-break, and did not drop her serve in the second set to clinch victory.
Coco Gauff finishes strong and punches a ticket to Round 3 ✅ pic.twitter.com/maVFFWq9bz
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2025
Asked how it felt to appear so emotionally vulnerable before a packed stadium and a global audience of millions, Gauff replied: "It feels human, I think. I think being an athlete, people kind of disregard that side of us, the human side of things.
"People say so many things, like, you know, you're No 3 in the world, and you're doing this or you're playing like this, and you should be better and things like that. But at the end of the day, I feel like if I stop and didn't pick up a racquet tomorrow, I have a career that so many people would dream of," the French Open champion said.
"I think I just show people what it's like to be a human, and I have bad days, but I think it's more about how you get up after those bad moments and how you show up after that. I think today I showed that I can get up after feeling the worst I've ever felt on the court."
Vekic meanwhile also endured a traumatic outing, and was seen burying her face into her towel in despair during a match in which she coughed up 10 double-faults and was broken six times.
Gauff faces Polish 28th seed Magdalena Frech in the third round on Saturday.