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U.S. Open 2025: Iga Swiatek survives second-round scare vs. Suzan Lamens after being pushed to third set

Prior to Thursday, the last time Iga Swiatek failed to advance beyond the second round at a Grand Slam event came all the way back in 2019. Despite being pushed hard by Suzan Lamens, Swiatek just barely managed to keep that streak intact.

Swiatek was pushed to the limit by Lamens on Thursday, narrowly winning the second-round match 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

It looked like Swiatek would cruise to an easy win early on. Swiatek dominated in the first set, notching nine winners and two aces to take the early 6-1 lead. But some misplays sunk Swiatek in the second set. Two double faults and 12 unforced errors proved to be the difference vs. Lamens, who won the second set 6-4 to force a third set.

After jumping out to an early lead in the final set, Swiatek allowed Lamens to get back into the match. Lamens rallied back in the third set to briefly cut Swiatek's lead to 5-4 before she finally put Lamens away 6-4.

Had Swiatek lost, it would have marked her earliest Grand Slam exit since 2019, when she was defeated in the second round of the U.S. Open. Swiatek — who was competing in the event for the first time in her career — was eliminated by Anastasija Sevastova in 2019.

After that loss, Swiatek blossomed into one of the best players in the sport. After making it to the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2020, Swiatek took home her first Grand Slam title at the French Open a few months laster. Swiatek made deep runs at each Grand Slam in 2021, though failed to pick up any wins. Since then, however, she's won five Grand Slams.

That excellence led to Swiatek being the No. 1 ranked women's player from April 2022 to Sept. 2023. Despite losing that title, Swiatek continued to play excellent tennis, and ranked as the women's No. 2 entering the 2025 U.S. Open.

Entering Thursday, Lamens, had never advanced past the second round of any Grand Slam. After failing to advance past the qualifying round in eight different Grand Slams, Lamens advanced to the second round at the 2025 Australian Open. She followed that up with a first-round loss at the 2025 French Open.

While Lamens failed to advance past the second round at the U.S. Open on Thursday, her near win over Swiatek goes down as the finest match in Lamens' professional career so far.