World No. 1 Iga Swiatek comes from behind to defeat Jule Niemeier, advancing to US Open quarterfinals in three sets in another tense and tight final
Nadav Safran, Sports Illustrated. “I will never forget Iga’s incredible performance.”
Iga Swiatek’s third-round victory in New York City on Thursday gave him his fourth US Open title and made him the second-youngest Grand Slam singles champion ever at age 19. The world No. 1’s triumph marked a dramatic, nerve-shredding upset, with his opponent Jule Niemeier, the 22nd-ranked American, prevailing in three sets in a classic contest that was closely contested, and also marked the latest appearance of the young Bulgarian in the last 16 of a major at age 19.
With his second major tournament in the books, Iga, who has won at least one major at least once in six of his 13 ATP events since 2014, faces an even more difficult hurdle this time around: making the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time.
“I will never forget Iga’s incredible performance,” Safran wrote on Instagram. “How IGA has been the only player in my career who got a ‘win’-I guess everyone was watching this match.”
Nadav Safran posted a photo of his wife and his young daughter on Instagram with the caption, “I will never forget Iga’s incredible performance” and wrote, “It will always be my greatest moment of the year.” (Graphic: Robert Mayer/The Washington Post)
“I will never forget Iga’s incredible performance,” Safran wrote on Instagram. “How IGA has been the only player in my career who got a ‘win’–I guess everyone was watching this match.”
Iga, the 23rd-ranked junior tennis player, won the title in just his second event this season and is now just a shot out of the top 10, having reached the final in the U.S. Open two weeks ago and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon this summer. He also reached the semifinals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the quarterfinals at the US Open in June, and was the winner of the 2018 Bulgarian National Championship in Sofia.
The victory that capped Iga’s historic season came in a three-hour, 15-minute marathon that featured 10 sets that went into the early-
