Swiatek takes center stage on action-packed Monday
Hope may have stirred briefly in the hearts of those remaining at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday when Lesia Tsurenko View Profile captured the first two games of her match with top-ranked No.1 Iga Swiatek View Profile .
Just as swiftly it would have flamed out, for Swiatek won the last dozen games to advance to Monday’s Round of 16.
“After a pretty rusty start, I was able to break back pretty quickly, so I’m happy that I played a solid game,” Swiatek told reporters later.
That “rusty” beginning was the only hiccup she’s experienced so far in Rome. For the record, Swiatek won her other three sets 6-0 -- and now has a Hologic WTA Tour-leading 10 shutout sets for the still-young season. The two-time defending champion has also won 13 consecutive matches at the Italian Open, joining Chris Evert, Conchita Martinez, Gabriela Sabatini, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.
With the Nos. 2-6 seeds all out, Swiatek looms as an even larger favorite than usual.
She will be part of eight high-profile matches in play on Monday, featuring three Czech Republic players, an all-South American and a China vs. China matchup as well. Five of the 16 competitors are unseeded.
Top half
No.1 Iga Swiatek View Profile vs. No.21 Donna Vekic View Profile
Vekic defeated No.16 Liudmila Samsonova View Profile 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the final third-round match, which concluded after 10 p.m. local time.
Swiatek is now 60-17 in WTA 1000 events and into her fifth Round of 16 -- only Caroline Wozniacki View Profile reached this destination more times before her 22nd birthday. Swiatek holds a 3-0 record against Vekic, but this is their first meeting on clay.
No.7 Elena Rybakina View Profile vs. Marketa Vondrousova View Profile
Rybakina advanced when Anna Kalinskaya View Profile retired 35 minutes into the match after trailing 4-3.Vondrousova was a 7-5, 6-3 winner over No.9 seed Maria Sakkari View Profile .
Vondrousova won the only previous match between them, in straight sets, two years ago in Moscow.
No.8 Daria Kasatkina View Profile vs. No.20 Jelena Ostapenko View Profile
Down 5-1 in the first set, Ostapenko staged an unlikely (and ultimately masterful) escape to defeat No.10 Barbora Krejcikova View Profile 7-6 (2), 6-0 in a match between two former Roland Garros champions. This is familiar ground for the 25-year-old Latvian. She reached the round of 16 in Rome for the fourth time in eight years.
Kasatkina was a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2) winner over Julia Grabher View Profile . Ostapenko leads the head-to-head series 4-2, with the last two wins coming on the grass in 2021. On clay, however, it’s 1-all.
“She’s a good player,” Ostapenko said of Kasatkina, “but I always have focus more on myself. I played the second set really well, so I will try to bring that level tomorrow.”
Paula Badosa View Profile vs. Karolina Muchova View Profile
Badosa, who was ranked a career-high No.2 a year ago, defeated No.32 Marta Kostyuk View Profile 6-4, 6-2. Muchova was a winner over Italians Martina Trevisan View Profile and Camila Giorgi back-to-back.
Muchova won their only previous match, in straight sets, in the Round of 16 two years ago at Wimbledon.
Sweet 16 here she comes!
— wta (@WTA) May 14, 2023
Badosa defeats Kostyuk 6-4, 6-2, heading into the fourth round she will face Muchova. @paulabadosa | #IBI23 pic.twitter.com/DMO1o9BdGR
Bottom half
No.27 Marie Bouzkova View Profile vs. No.11 Veronika Kudermetova View Profile
Bouzkova had Sunday’s upset of the day, a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 6 Coco Gauff View Profile . She’s on the top line in the bottom half that has seen the departures of No.2 Aryna Sabalenka View Profile , No.3 Jessica Pegula View Profile , No.5 Caroline Garcia View Profile and No.6 Coco Gauff.
Kudermetova won by a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 count over No.23 Anastasia Potapova View Profile . The head-to-head is two-all, going back to 2015.
“I expect a tough match,” Bouzkova said. “She’s a big hitter. I just have to grind it out like I did today.”
No.12 Beatriz Haddad Maia View Profile vs. Camila Osorio View Profile
Osorio, a qualifier ranked No.100, is the lowest-ranked player left in the tournament and coming off a breakthrough victory.
In heavy conditions favorable to her game, Osorio upset No.5 seed Caroline Garcia View Profile 6-4, 6-4, her best win by ranking for the 21-year-old player from Colombia.
Haddad Maia gets it done!
— wta (@WTA) May 13, 2023
Defeating Linette 7-5, 6-4 she will face Osorio next in round 4. #IBI23 pic.twitter.com/XK3ekHyiQf
“I’ve been training and working hard to get this victory,” said Osorio, who saved a match point in her first-round victory over Varvara Gracheva View Profile . “I’m so thankful and happy and proud.”
It was her first Top 10 win of the season, after falling to Iga Swiatek View Profile and Aryna Sabalenka View Profile , and only the second in eight career matches. This is her first berth in a WTA 1000 Round of 16.
Haddad Maia, meanwhile, defeated No.17 Magda Linette View Profile 7-5, 6-4. This is the first time two South Americans have faced off in the Round of 16 (or beyond) in a WTA 1000 event, going back to 2009.
These two have never played.
No. 19 Madison Keys View Profile vs. No.30 Anhelina Kalinina View Profile
After Sofia Kenin View Profile knocked off No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka View Profile , Kalinina took down Kenin 6-4, 6-2. Keys advanced when No.14 seed Victoria Azarenka View Profile withdrew with a right leg injury.
Kalinina holds a 2-0 career advantage over Keys, including last year’s 6-4, 6-4 win in Rome.
No.22 Zheng Qinwen vs. Wang Xiyu
Here’s an all-China matchup, the first at a WTA 1000 since Qiang Wang defeated Yafan Wang View Profile in Miami four years ago.
Zheng was a 7-6 (2), 6-4 winner over qualifier Anna Bondar View Profile . Wang, who defeated No.31 seed Irina-Camelia Begu View Profile in the second round, defeated qualifier Taylor Townsend View Profile 6-2, 0-6, 7-5.
Zheng won their only previous match, last year’s Valencia 125 final, in three sets.
“[Wang] plays really aggressive tennis,” Zheng said. “She’s a lefty which gives her advantage on serve. She plays really good, a great player. I’ll need to go all out playing against her.”
