It's hard enough to book a spot at the business end of a Grand Slam tournament. Now, try having to face your best friend to do it.
That's the challenge that awaits top seed Iga Swiatek at the US Open on Friday when she faces Slovenia's Kaja Juvan in the third round.
Juvan and Swiatek have been peers in tennis since their earliest days playing international tournaments, and in 2018, paired up to win the gold medal at the Youth Olympics in Brazil. As pros, they've played twice, and Swiatek owns a winning 2-0 record.
Both those matches came in 2021, before the Polish star ascended to the world No. 1 ranking. The first was a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win on hard courts in Australia, and the second, a 6-0, 7-5 win at Roland Garros.
That win in Paris, on Court Philippe-Chatrier, was less notable for the final score, and more for the heartwarming scenes after the match. As they shook hands, Swiatek offered words of encouragement to her good buddy, who admitted she was "kind of nervous at the beginning."
"You're playing great," Swiatek, who was ranked No. 8 to Juvan's No. 101 at the time, said.
Two years later, Juvan's run at this hard-court major has already been notable since the early days of US Open Fan Week. It's all the more impressive when one considers that Juvan was ranked as low as No. 241 this year. Struggling with form after the passing of her father from cancer, the Slovenian took nearly two full months off from the tour in the spring.
In her final-round qualifying match, Juvan saved five match points in a 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 win over Himeno Sakatsume. In Round 1, she knocked out No. 29 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and in Round 2, she came from a set down in a 2-hour, 36-minute win over Lauren Davis.
The Slovenian is into the third round of a major for the fifth time, but has never reached the last 16. If she wants to break new ground, she'll have to not only pull off an all-time upset (Juvan entered the US Open ranked No. 145) against a world No. 1 to do it.
She'll also have to put it out of her mind that it's not just any world No. 1.
"I wouldn't say that the friendship part is a big deal," Juvan said. I think it's great that we're connected and that we have a good friendship. I'm always supporting her and she's supporting me, and I think that's very nice from the personal side. From the tennis side, she is No. 1, so when we talk, she understands, and I think it's also a good showing of where you're standing with your level.
"She's No. 1 for a reason with her tennis, and I think it's going to be a good challenge. In any case, I'm trying to have the right attitude and fight for every point, and let's see where I stand. I think you have to go into each match by thinking, 'OK, you can do this.' That's how I'm going to try to go."
It's something Swiatek said she, too, shouldn't have any trouble doing.
"I think we both can kind of cut off the off-court friendship and just play our game, and then we are friends back," Swiatek said after her Round 2 win over Aussie Daria Saville.
"She's one of the most, like, honest and I think smart people on tour," Swiatek said. "I'm happy that she's my friend, but we've got to play against each other. It's a tricky situation, but I think we both know how to be professional and just play the match and that's all."
The pair will walk out second on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Day 5.
