Italian Open: Two-time champion Iga Swiatek passes Yulia Putintseva test to progress into fourth round
By Nancy Gillen
Updated 11/05/2024 at 22:17 GMT+1
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek progressed into the Italian Open fourth round with a 6-3 6-4 victory against Yulia Putintseva. Swiatek, a two-time Italian Open champion, was nearly taken to a deciding set by Putintseva, but she won five games on the bounce to wrap up the victory. The top seed is competing two weeks after winning her 20th WTA title at the Madrid Open.
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Video credit: SNTV
Iga Swiatek defeated Yulia Putintseva in straight sets to reach the Italian Open fourth round.
The world No. 1 triumphed 6-3 6-4, but the scoreline did not reflect the impressive comeback Swiatek staged in the second set.
The encounter between the two-time Italian Open champion and Putintseva started off evenly, with each player winning two games each to reach 2-2.
It was then that Swiatek started to pull away by winning the fifth game, breaking Putintseva in the sixth and then establishing a 5-2 lead.
Putintseva fought back in the eighth game but Swiatek served for the set in style by not dropping a single point.
The second set was a more intriguing battle as Putintseva found joy with her signature drop shot, breaking Swiatek early and racing into a 3-0 lead.
Swiatek finally got onto the scoreboard in the fourth game, but Putintseva looked set to take the match to a deciding set when she moved into a 4-1 lead.
The top seed did not give up, however, winning a mammoth sixth game to close the deficit. She then broke Putintseva to move closer, before drawing level on her serve.
After earning yet another break point, Swiatek won her fifth successive game to wrap up the victory in one hour and 46 minutes.
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Swiatek is hoping to earn a third Italian Open title, having previously triumphed at the WTA 1000 tournament in 2021 and 2022.
She has started the clay season well, claiming her third WTA title this year at the Madrid Open.
If she is victorious in Rome, she will become just the fifth player, male or female, to win both the Madrid Open and Italian Open in the same season.
Osaka impresses on clay again
Naomi Osaka dispatched Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-3 to book her place in the fourth round.
The four-time Grand Slam winner controlled the early stages of the match, winning the opening set despite a dip in the middle games.
The first four games of the second set were tight, but Osaka kept her composure, breaking her opponent five times and collecting five aces.
The 26-year-old, who has traditionally preferred hard courts, will now face world No. 7 Qinwen Zheng of China after she defeated Linda Noskova in her third-round match.
However, Osaka is not getting too confident on clay, despite some fans labelling her 'Clayomi' after the straight-sets win.
“Please don’t,” Osaka said. “Please. I think I need more clay credentials for that. But I’m happy that they're happy.”
Nonetheless, Osaka was delighted to be impressing on the surface.
"It’s definitely more mental,” she added. “I could always do it. I’m a little impatient.
"Obviously when you hit a heavier ball, for me, I feel like I think about a moon ball.
"It didn't really click until I was watching [Rafael] Nadal play and seeing how he actually accelerates so much when he’s doing that, knowing that a heavier ball sometimes is more difficult than a flatter shot."
Gauff into fourth round
Coco Gauff recovered from a disastrous second set to beat Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-1 0-6 6-3 and secure a spot in the fourth round.
The world No. 3 looked to be in fine form coming off the back of her third-round triumph over Magdalena Frech, and stormed to a quick victory in the opener.
Cristian showed nerves of steel to recover and took the second set in stunning fashion, winning it to love.
Despite the score, Gauff had to battle to get over the line in the decider, but she was ultimately too strong for Cristian.
Gauff will now play world No. 126 Paula Badosa of Spain after she edged past Diana Shnaider 5-7 6-4 6-4.
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