Key events
Oh wow, a fantastic backhand winner down the line rescues Rublev when Boyer looks set to take the min-break and they’re level at 303; an ace follows. Back on Armstrong, Osaka has broken Baptiste again for 5-2, while Cobolli has broken Brooksby back for 5-5 in the first, their match one that feels like an epic.
Back to Boyer v Rublev where somehow, they’re playing a fourth-set breaker; the no 15 seed leads 2-1, no min-break.
Next on Ashe: Jannik Sinner (1) v Alexei Popyrin.
Swiatek says she made some mistakes but is happy with how she served in set three and glad she won. Though her opponent played well, how she does is dependent on her and though she got a bit tight in set two, the third was a reset and she tried to be more precise, which she was.
Lamens played really well after the first set, and will rue double faults at particularly inopportune times. That, though, is pressure, and ultimately Swiatek handled it better.
Iga Swiatek (2) beats Suzan Lamens 6-1 4-6 6-4
She seals it with an ace and meets Kalinskaya next. She’ll need to play much better than she did today if she’s to go deep, but we can almost certain she will.
A decent first serve, a backhand down the line and an overhead make 30-0 and Swiatek is two points away, then Lamens swats wide, and this is nearly done. It’s been a struggle but she’ll be the better for it … and, as I type, she sends down a double.
Osaka saves a break point in game one, then breaks Baptiste in game two, before having a point taken off for sliding into the net – you don’t see many of those – and is subsequently broken back. Meantime, Lamens comes back to 30-all from 0-30, and though Swiatek then sets up match point, she plays a decent rally for deuce and secures her hold. At 4-5 in the third, she forces the Wimbledon champ to serve out.
Swiatek holds to 15 from 0-15 and celebrates by striking the kind of pose Bruce Forsyth made famous. At 5-3 in the third, she’s a game away.
On Armstrong, Baptiste and Swiatek are out; I’m going to celebrate with a Fruit pastilles ice lolly and switch over to watch. Otherwise, Swiatek leads Lamens 4-3 in the third, still with a break; Boyer has broken Rublev back and now leads 3-2 in the fourth, trailing 2-1 in sets; Brooksby leads Cobolli 3-2 with a break; Cerundolo leads Riedi 6-3 2-1 with a break; Frech and Stearns are 2-2; Shapovalov leads Royer 7-6; Wong leads Walton 7-6 6-2 4-6 1-2; Khachanov leads Majchrzak 6-2 3-4; and Kostyuk lesads Sonmez 7-5.
In comms, they note that in set two, Swiatek was trying to wallop her forehand, but has taken pace off since, which makes sense. She tried to hot Noskova off the court when she lost in Australia, playing her opponent’s game not her own, but is now trying to do her thing and, as I type, a big double from Lamens hands over another break. At 4-1 in the third, that probably settles things.
Down break-back point, Rublev finds an ace down the T, then another to make advantage … only to net a forehand. No matter, from there he closes out to endorse the break and leads 2-1 2-0. Back on Ashe, Swiatek now leads 3-1 in the decider, and I’m almost as interested to hear her reflections post-match than I am to see how the rest of it unfolds.
Before I even get there, Rublev breaks Boyer for 2-1 1-0, while consecutive doubles from Lamens take Swiatek from game-point down to break-point up. A good return then forces the error and the Wimbledon champ leads 2-1 in the third.
Back on Grandstand, Boyer, who looked totally outmatched in the time I was watching, has sneaked the third set to trail Rublev 3-6 3-6 7-5. I guess I’m switching off Brooksby 1-1 Cobolli to return there.
Lorenzo Musetti (10) beats David Goffin 6-4 6-0 6-2
Pretty straightforward for Musetti, who meets Brooksby or Cobolli next. If it’s the latter, we’re in for a lot of fun.
Lamens races in to sweep a winner cross-court for 30-all, but a big serve raises game point, then another secures it. Two decent deliveries under pressure will give Swiatek a little bit of confidence, but she doesn’t look happy at 6-1 4-6 1-1.
Lamens looks so confident out there now, holding to 15 in the decider. I’d still expect Swiatek to find a way to win – I’m reminded of her win against Osaka in Paris the year before last, a match she really should have lost – but her rivals will be enjoying what they’re seeing. I guess, though, that Sabalenka and Gauff are also prone to dips and doubt, which reminds of what we were saying below: we all are.
It’s a funny thing, really: confidence is so hard to get and easy to lose, even if you won Wimbledon not even two months ago. And if that’s so for elite tennisers, we can understand why, in different walks of life, it’s similar for the rest of us too.
And she nails her return, then Swiatek nets! I was going to say we’re getting a decider out of nowhere, but that’s not accurate: Lames has gradually played her way into this match while, courtside, Laura Robson reckons Swiatek is taking her racket back a little late so is meeting the ball a little late. Lamens leaves the court, so she’s a few minutes to sort herself.
Oh wow! Lamens makes 15-4 on the Swiatek serve and has two set points at 1-6 5-4!
Well that didn’t last long. Musetti breaks Goffin back to lead 6-4 6-0 2-2, so I’m going to switch to Brooksby v Cobolli.
Let’s go around the courts. Rublev leads Boyer 6-3 6-3 4-5; Cerudolo leads Riedi 3-1; Wong leads Walton 7-6 6-2 2-3; Khachanov leads Majchrzak 4-2; and Kostyuk leads Sonmez 3-1.
What on earth is going on with the umpire-issue trainers? So many good ones in the world, and yet.
After looking so dominant and confident, Swiatek is wobbling. Lamens is, as we said, starting to enjoy herself, but Iga also looks a little rattled; let’s see how she moves on from here, but for now she leads 6-1 4-4.
Musetti has taken the second set via bagel to lead Goffin 2-0, but he’s now 0-2 down in set three. I guess I’ll visit with them now to see if the wily veteran can build.
In interview, Haddad Maia talks about mental strength immediately, which reminds me a bit of when Arsène Wenger used to speak about his Arsenal team, unwittingly revealing his fear by trying to manifest one of their biggest weaknesses. Otherwise, she’s happy with her performance today and enjoyed the support she got from the crowd – though when asked about Guga Kuerten, she’s very clear she compares herself neither to him nor Maria Bueno, she just hopes to bring a bit of joy to people who deserve it.
While that was going on, Swiatek broke Lamens. She now leads 6-1 4-3.
Beatriz Haddad Maia (18) beats Viktorija Golubic 6-1 6-4
Next for her: Sakkari. That is going to be a blast.
Yeah, Bia will be Bia. Serving for the match at 6-1 5-4, she’s soon reasoning with herself, down 15-40, but big forehands save the first break point, then a weak first serve, 63mph, invites Golubic into the rally, but a netted slice takes her to deuce. This tactic of getting the ball into play might work against this level of opposition, but the better players will take it apart.
Ekaterina Alexandrova (13) beats Wang Xinyu 6-2 6-2
Next for her: Zakharova or Siegmund.
Anna Kalinskaya (29) beats Yulia Putintseva 6-1 7-5
Next for her: Lamens or Swiatek.
Hold tight Suzan Lamens! She not only breaks-back Swiatek to love, but seals is with a glorious lob. She’s starting to enjoy herself a bit now, good for her, good for us and, in a way, also good for the world no 2, who could use a challenge to get her going for later in the competition.
The crowd, of course, are behind Bia, Brazilians turning out as they often do. Jelena Ostapenko didn’t love all that when the two met in March, though of course she expressed her feelings with typical levity and charm.
Jelena Ostapenko calling the crowd disrespectful and then smiling at them right after is such a mood.
This woman can do no wrong. pic.twitter.com/eVFhaEyKln
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 25, 2023
As in set one, Swiatek breaks Lamens early to lead 6-1 2-1. Out on Stadium 17, meantime, Haddad Maia has just ended a 26-shot rally with a gorgeous pass down the line – he control is beautiful, not words I’ve frequently written about her. She holds for 6-1 5-3, and is a game away.
I was going to watch Musetti v Goffin, but at 6-4 4-0, that too feels almost over. I think I’ll go for Brooksby v Cobolli – they’re on after Haddad Maia and Golubic.
Maria Sakkari beats Anna Bondar 6-3 6-1
Next for her: Haddad Maia or Golubic, the Brazilian leading 6-1 4-3.
Rublev secures a second 6-3 set against Boyer. I’m going to find a different match to watch on my second screen.
Maria Sakkari is almost home, up 6-3 4-1 on Bondar. I’m interested to see how she does here – she beat Toljanovic in round one, not easily done, and gave Paolini trouble in Cincy, losing 6 and 6. She lacks the power to beat the best, I think, but if she can keep herself calm in big moments, she’s a really good player.
Linda Noskova (21) beats Eva Lys 6-4 3-0 retired
Noskova is a talent – only 20, she beat Swiatek, admittedly out of form, in Melbourne. Next for her: Cirstea or Muchova.
Shonuff, Swiatek swiftly serves out a 6-1 set, and she’s playing like the best in the world. So, though, is Sabalenka.
Lamens has no answer to Swiatek’s relentless thwacking and precision. She’s sticking in rallies, but all that’s achieving is tiredness; she’s broken again for 1-5, and the first set is nearly gone.
Unsurprisingly, Rublev breaks Boyer to win his third straight game; he now leads 6-3 3-1. Elsewhere, Musetti has just broken Goffin to secure a 6-4 set, while Haddad Maia is up a break in set, leading Golubic 6-1 2-1; Noskova leads Lys 6-4 1-0; Sakkari leads Bondar 6-3 3-0; Wong leads Walton 7-6; Alexandrova leads Wang 6-2 4-2; and Kalinskaya leads Putintseva 6-1 2-4.
Swiatek quickly raises a point for a double break, only to cuff a forehand wide. From there, Lamens toughs out the hold, and you can imagine how much Iga enjoys that. Her intensity could power a small village, and it’s so great to see her back having at it – she looks a totally different player to the one we saw at the start of the year.
Boyer can only take so much; you can’t allow a player of Rublev’s class four breaking opportunities and expect him not to take one of them, and that’s exactly what he does. A swift hold follows, the lead now 6-3 2-1.
Goffin has broken back against Musetti and they’re now 4-4 in set one. On Grandstand, Rublev is giving Boyer all he can handle, forcing break points that he can’t quite convert. Oh, and Swiatek survives break point to lead Lamens 3-0, I don’t imagine this match will detain us all that long.
Also a set up are Sakkari, 6-3 against Bondar; Alexandrova, 6-2 1-1 against Wang; and Kalinskaya, 6-1 1-1 against Putitnseva. Meanwhile, Swiatek breaks Lamens for 2-0, already looking monstrous; it’ll take something significant to beat her here, but both Gauff, her potential semi-final opponent, and Sabalenka, the defending champ and no 1 seed, are capable of that.
Rublev takes his eye off the ball and, against a player who didn’t look able to hurt him in set one, is broken at the start of two having made careless unforced errors. If Boyer can consolidate, he’s in business.
Elsewhere, Haddad Maia has taken the first set 6-1 against Golubic. She’s one I thought and hoped might go on – she’s got such easy, lefty power, so I wondered whether she might hit a seam at the right time and beat players ranked above her. At 29, though, that looks unlikely.
While I was moving Rublev to said phone, he sneakily served out a 6-3 first set. I’d love to see him do well here: I’m reliably informed he’s a really good lad and his on-court struggles have been hard to watch. It must be extremely frustrating to find that, having hit a certain level, you don’t seem able to improve, and hope he can find a way of being kinder to himself.
On Ashe, Swiatek and Lamens are almost ready. As such, I’ve got that on my main screen and Boyer v Rublev on my second. Sadly, there’s no prospect of three and four as I can’t get at the streamed courts on anything but my phone.
Other hand, Andy Murray once revealed that, in the aftermath of losing the 2012 Wimbledon final to Roger Federer, he began processing the realisation that he may never win a slam. A few months later, he was Olympic champion, and a few months later still, he was US Open champion.
Originally, I misread the order of play and thought Zverev v Fearnley was today, not tonight. It could be a helluva match, that one – will Zverev ever recover from his major-final collapses and pummellings? He looked broken at the end of this year’s Aussie Open and, though that was, of course, in the moment, my sense is he no longer believes he can win one.
On the main Sky channel, we’ve got Boyer v Rublev – the no 15 seed leads 32 with a break – and on my phone, I’m going to start with Musetti v Goffin, Musettti up 2-0, but we’ll see how it goes.
Preamble
Yes yes y’all and welcome to the US Open 2025 – day five!
We begin today with a variety of intriguing matchups. Lorenzo Musetti meets David Goffin, Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on the dangerous Daniel Altmaier and Beatriz Haddad Maia, whose powerful aggression has long been a favourite of this blog, faces Viktorija Golubic. Oh yeah, and Iga Swiatek, tennis’ form and most frighteningly focused player, addresses Suzan Lamens.
Franky, that’s enough for an entire session, but there’s so, so much more. Andrey Rublev is also involved in the first tranche of matches, after which Jannik Sinner, the defending champ, gets going again, Alexei Popyrin a properly dangerous opponent.
My potential match of the day, though, comes on Armstrong, where Hailey Baptiste will have a go at Naomi Osaka ,and I’m also excited to see Sorana Cirsrtea try to upset another favourite, Karolina Muchova. Add to that appearances from Daria Kasatkina, Alex De Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Maria Sakkari, Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov, and we’re all set for another burst of joy and love exactly when we need it most.
