World number one Iga Swiatek effortlessly advanced to the semi-finals of the prestigious Italian Open, securing a straight-set victory over 18th seed Madison Keys. The 22-year-old Polish tennis sensation, who has triumphed at the Rome event in 2021 and 2022, wrapped up the 6-1 6-3 win in just 77 minutes.
This was the second time in the last 13 days that Swiatek has emerged victorious against Keys, having previously defeated the American by the same scoreline in the Madrid Open semi-finals. Swiatek’s dominant performance in the Italian capital has yet to see her drop a single set, as she prepares to defend her French Open title later this month.
“The four-time Grand Slam champion is aiming to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2013 to secure back-to-back singles titles in Madrid and Rome within the same season.”
Swiatek’s next opponent will be either third seed Coco Gauff or Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen.
In the men’s event, Chilean player Alejandro Tabilo followed up his surprise win over world number one Novak Djokovic with another upset victory, this time against Russian 16th seed Karen Khachanov. The 32nd-ranked Tabilo won 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (12-10) to reach his first ATP Masters 1,000 quarter-final, where he will face China’s Zhang Zhizhen.
American Taylor Fritz also advanced to the quarter-finals, overcoming Bulgarian eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-7 (11-13) 6-1 after letting a match point slip during a 20-minute second-set tie-break. Fritz will now take on German third seed Alexander Zverev or Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the last eight.
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