Iga Swiatek breezes past Naomi Osaka as Coco Gauff saves match point against Iva Jovic to advance to Italian Open quarter-finals

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Iga Swiatek booked her quarter-final spot at the Italian Open at Naomi Osaka's expense, claiming a 6-2 6-1 fourth-round win over her fellow Grand Slam champion in Rome on Tuesday.

Top 5 shots: Iga Swiatek

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Swiatek is looking to win the Italian Open title for a fourth time, having triumphed in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

And the 'Queen of Clay' boosted her chances of further WTA 1000 success as she claimed her 24th match-win in Rome in just 80 minutes against Osaka.

The 24-year-old broke Osaka in the opening game of the contest, and while the world No. 16 pulled the first set back to 2-2, Swiatek wasted no time in re-establishing her dominance.

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She ultimately served up three aces to Osaka's two, while the latter committed three double-faults, and clocked up 23 winners on her way to a commanding victory.

The result means Swiatek has now won her last three meetings with Osaka after the pair met for the first time in two years.

Swiatek will now face Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals of the competition on Wednesday, the American having claimed a straight-sets victory over Anastasia Potapova.

Pegula last faced Swiatek on clay back at the 2022 French Open, falling to a 6-3 6-2 defeat four years ago.

The fine clay form bodes well for the French Open, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, as Swiatek looks to win in Paris for the fifth time in her career.

Gauff saves match point to advance

Third seed Coco Gauff fought back from the brink to deny Iva Jovic the biggest win of her career.

Jovic, 18, had a match point in the second set on her serve but could not convert.

Gauff broke and forced a decider, in which she won the final four games to seal a 5-7 7-5 6-2 victory.

"Honestly on that match point my head was almost to the locker room, to be honest," Gauff said.

"I was thinking ‘Well, I'm going to hear a lot about this one’. Then after, I don't know, I was able to get through it. I think she maybe dropped a little bit her level when she had the lead. It was able to help me get back into the match.

”Honestly I was thinking about my match in Dubai when I saved like five or six against [Elise] Mertens. I was like, Maybe I can do it again today."

The result was Gauff’s 10th three-set win on the WTA Tour this year, level with next opponent Mirra Andreeva and Pegula.

Gauff has also now won her last two matches in Rome after losing the first set.

"Honestly the starts have been fine," she said.

”My first round I was up a break. Today I was up a break in the first. I think I was up 3-1, 30-Love, too. I think for me it's more focusing on staying on top of the opponent when I do have the lead in the first set. I think it's a learning experience. I'm not disappointed.

"I played two quality opponents, Iva being top 20. I'm not Jannik [Sinner]. I think I'm going to lose some sets. Obviously the goal is to definitely start those matches... I guess I'm starting them fine, but continue to close out the first sets so I don't have to go three hours on the court."

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