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NEW YORK: Iga Swiatek’s first evening under the bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium nearly turned into a nightmare before the world number two summoned her championship resolve to beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-6(2) 6-4 at the US Open on Saturday.

The Wimbledon winner found herself staring down the barrel at 5-1 in the opening set of their third-round clash as Russian 29th seed Kalinskaya threatened to repeat her stunning upset victory over Swiatek in Dubai last year.

“Well, for sure it wasn’t the easy match, especially after the beginning,” a relieved Swiatek said.

“I’m happy that I came back and started playing better, because for sure I did some mistakes in the beginning of the first set that I wish didn’t happen.”

The Pole was far from her sharpest in the scrappy, error-strewn contest — nine breaks and 67 unforced errors by both players combined painted the picture of a match won through sheer bloody-mindedness rather than sublime shot-making.

Yet Swiatek steadied herself at the key moments, serving up a masterclass in mental fortitude as the 2022 US Open champion clawed her way back into contention.

She saved four set points in the first, eventually dominating the tiebreak 7-2, and broke late in the second to notch her 20th major match win of the season, drawing level with defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

The key to her remarkable turnaround? Keeping her cool when panic might have been the natural response.

“At 5-1 or something, it’s easy to panic, and I didn’t. So that’s good,” Swiatek said.

The six-times Grand Slam champion revealed she made crucial tactical adjustments mid-match.

“I focused on, like, two technical things that I figured out might help me,” she said.

“When the ball was easier, I played too long sometimes. I wanted to keep the margins, I guess, to not make unforced errors.”

The victory propels Swiatek into the last 16 for the fifth year in succession in New York, where she will face 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

NEW YORK: Chinese rookie Miranda Wang fired a bogey-free 7-under par 65 to seize a three-shot lead on Saturday in the weather-disrupted LPGA FM Championship at TPC Boston.

Wang, a 26-year-old who helped Duke University win the prestigious NCAA US collegiate team crown in 2019, put herself in striking position for a first LPGA title in Sunday’s final round.

She piled up seven birdies on the way to a 18-under par total of 198 — three clear of 36-hole leader Kim Sei-young of South Korea and American Rose Zhang.

It was another stroke back to world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand and American Andrea Lee.

Wang had managed to polish off her second-round 67 on Friday night, shortly before play was suspended by darkness on a day that featured three stoppages.

Three shots behind Kim to start the third round, Wang marched up the leaderboard with a solid display on the greens.

She followed a birdie at the second with three straight birdies at six, seven and eight and rapped in another birdie putt at the par-five 12th to push her lead to three strokes.

She added birdies at 14 and 18, finishing with just 24 putts to maintain her advantage.

“I did a good job today,” Wang said. “I really want to give myself some credit. This is where all the players want to be, so it’s definitely special going into the final round being the sole leader.”

Kim and Zhang both had marathon days after completing just four holes on Friday.

Kim returned to complete a seven-under 65 and grab the lead, but she couldn’t maintain the pace and posted a one-under 71 in the third round.

She faltered early with bogeys at the second and third holes and was two-over through nine before rolling in three birdies and signing for a one-under 71 that kept her in the hunt for a 13th LPGA title and her first in nearly five years.

Her last title came at the Pelican Championship in November 2020, a month after she won her lone major title at the Women’s PGA Championship.

Zhang completed a second-round 64 and then shook off an early bogey in the third round with six birdies in a five-under 67.

“It’s been a while since I played 32 holes,” said Zhang, another US collegiate standout who has been hindered by injury this season. “I needed to grind it out a little bit. I needed to stay focused.”

Kim said the same. Irked by her early bogeys, she was delighted to come up with a closing birdie as darkness closed in on the final group.

“When I standing on the last hole it was already dark,” she said. “I have a chance to reach with the second shot, but the temperature dropped a little so it’s 10 yards short. I just laid up and then make birdie — good result.”

Jeeno had eight birdies in her seven-under 65 wile Lee had six birdies in a six-under 66 to join her on 14-under 202.

Another three players shared sixth on 203. That included Park Kum-kang, a 24-year-old South Korean ranked 340th in the world who picked up six strokes in her first seven holes on the way to an impressive eight-under 64.

She was joined by Japan’s Ayaka Furue (66) and Norway’s Celine Borge (67).