Stephens extends streak; Pavlyuchenkova sets Swiatek meeting in Rome

Second-round matchups started to come into full view on a drizzly Day 2 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Here are some top pics and quick hits from Wednesday's first-round action:

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. [WC] Sara Errani 6-1, 6-1

In a matchup between former Roland Garros finalists, Pavlyuchenkova eliminated Italian hope Errani in just 62 minutes to take a 6-2 lead in their head-to-head. Pavlyuchenkova never faced a break point in the match.

Pavlyuchenkova, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, picked up the second tour-level main-draw victory of her comeback. Her reward is a first career meeting with two-time defending champion and World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the second round.

More from Rome: Svitolina’s comeback fueled by love for family and country | Top 10 questions for the Top 10 seeds

Sloane Stephens def. Nadia Podoroska 6-4, 6-1

American Stephens grabbed her sixth straight match-win by ousting Podoroska in 1 hour and 22 minutes. The 2017 US Open champion Stephens picked up her first WTA 125 title last week as the top seed in Saint Malo.

Former World No.3 Stephens will face another Grand Slam champion, No.14 seed Victoria Azarenka, in the second round. Stephens and Azarenka have evenly split their eight previous meetings.

Sorana Cirstea def. Katie Volynets 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

Cirstea also won her sixth straight match, coming back from a break down in the third set to oust 21-year-old American Volynets. Cirstea, who is Top 20 in this year's Race to the WTA Finals, won the title in Reus at last week's other WTA 125 event.

Highlights: Cirstea def. Volynets

Romania's Cirstea will take on No.20 seed and 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round. Ostapenko has won both of their previous meetings, but they have not met since 2017, and this will be their first showdown on clay.

[Q] Elena-Gabriela Ruse def. Linda Fruhvirtova 6-1, 6-0

World No.152 Ruse had to battle through spotty rain during the tail end of her first-rounder, but the Romanian literally weathered the storm to cruise past 55th-ranked Fruhvirtova, the youngest player in the Top 100 at 18 years and 9 days old.

Ruse fended off all six of the break points she faced, and she won 89 percent of points when returning the Fruhvirtova second service (16 of 18). Ruse will next face No.12 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round, as she seeks her second career Top 20 win.

[Q] Camila Osorio def. Varvara Gracheva 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-6(4)

World No.100 Osorio of Colombia outlasted 46th-ranked Gracheva in 2 hours and 40 minutes, saving three match points while down 5-2 in the third set. Osorio was unable to convert two match points of her own at 6-5, but she held on in the tiebreak to close out the victory.

Highlights: Osorio def. Gracheva

Osorio's second-round opponent will be No.29 seed Petra Martic of Croatia, a Madrid quarterfinalist last week. It will be their first meeting.