Italian Open: Swiatek eases into Round of 16; Bouzkova upsets Gauff

World No.1 Iga Swiatek eased into the Round of 16 at the Italian Open after beating Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko

Rome: World No.1 Iga Swiatek eased into the Round of 16 at the Italian Open after beating Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-0 in the third round on Sunday.

This was Swiatek’s 13th consecutive win for Swiatek in Rome, the longest win streak in Rome since Serena Williams posted 21 consecutive wins from 2012 to 2019.

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The two-time defending champion will face either No.16 Liudmila Samsonova or No.21 Donna Vekic next.

Coming off wins over Elina Svitolina and Bernarda Pera to make her first third-round appearance in Rome, Tsurenko broke Swiatek’s serve immediately and led 2-0.

Swiatek responded emphatically. The two-time Roland Garros champion dialled in her game and found her margins to reel off 12 consecutive games to win her 27th match of the season and extend her 2023 record on clay to 11-1.

In other action, Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic notched an upset in a rain-postponed match on Sunday, ousting No.6 seed American Coco Gauff 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the Round of 16.

Bouzkova grabbed her third career Top 5 win — and her first of those on clay — with the 2-hour and 8-minute victory over World No.5 Gauff. Their match was originally scheduled for a Saturday night showdown on Centre Court before rain pushed it to Sunday.

Bouzkova will meet No.11 seed Veronika Kudermetova next, in what will be the pair’s first meeting this season. They have split their four previous meetings overall.

The other third-round match that was postponed from Saturday night never started on Sunday.

The No.19 seed Madison Keys advanced into the Round of 16 via walkover, after No.14 seed Victoria Azarenka withdrew from their match due to a right leg injury.

Azarenka’s injury also forced her out of this fortnight’s doubles draw. She and partner Beatriz Haddad Maia won the Madrid title last week, in their first event as teammates.

American Keys, a Rome finalist in 2016, will meet Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine in the Round of 16 on Monday.