US Open 2022
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York
Dates: Aug 29-Sep 11
Top seed Iga Swiatek avoided a US Open upset by recovering to beat unseeded Jule Niemeier and reach her first quarter-final in New York.
Swiatek trailed by a set and a break but fought back to win 2-6 6-4 6-1 against the German.
The 21-year-old from Poland has been the standout WTA player this season and is bidding for a seventh title in 2022.
The reigning French Open champion will play American Jessica Pegula, who beat Czech 21st seed Petra Kvitova.
Later on Monday, Czech 22nd seed Karolina Pliskova overcame three-time finalist Victoria Azarenka in three sets to reach the last eight.
Pliskova, a finalist in 2016, reached the quarter-finals at the US Open for the second successive year with a 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 win over the Belarusian.
She will meet Belarusian sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka or American 19th seed Danielle Collins next, with those two players meeting in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Swiatek took over as the world number one following Ashleigh Barty's shock retirement in March, fully justifying the position by going on a 37-match winning streak.
The dominance led to six titles in a row, winning in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome before adding the second triumph of her career at Roland Garros.
Unsurprisingly, she has been unable to sustain that sky-high level since but had not dropped a set in New York until 23-year-old Niemeier took the lead.
Swiatek made a lot of errors in the first set and start of the second, enabling Wimbledon quarter-finalist Niemeier to threaten a major upset and continue her breakthrough season with a notable win.
But the German began making mistakes at crucial times – particularly with double faults – and Swiatek slowly improved to better last year's run to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
"I'm proud I just didn't lose hope," said Swiatek.
"She was playing really good in the first set and the second set I tried to focus on the small things that are the base for us. I'm pleased I kept my level."
