Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek proved they are only human at the U.S. Open on Saturday and showed that even the best players in the world have to figure things out on the fly sometimes when pure talent is not enough.

Wimbledon champion Swiatek embodied the day's theme of triumph through adversity, clawing her way back from 5-1 down in the opening set against Anna Kalinskaya before grinding out a 7-6(2) 6-4 victory.

"I'm happy that I came back and kept ... figuring out and problem-solving," Swiatek said. "For sure, it wasn't an easy match."

The Pole was far from her sharpest in a 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.

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