May 14, (THEWILL) – Iga Swiatek’s quest to defend her Italian Open crown remains strong as she cruised past Lesia Tsurenko with an emphatic 6-2, 6-0 victory, securing a spot in the last 16 in Rome.
As the current world No. 1, Swiatek is heavily favoured to secure her third consecutive title in the Italian capital. To her advantage, the tournament has already witnessed early exits from other top-ranked players including Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur, and Caroline Garcia.
As THEWILL reported, the Polish player had a dominant start in her opening match, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a double bagel. Despite a shaky beginning against Tsurenko, where she was broken in the first game and trailed 2-0, Swiatek quickly regained her composure. She went on to win an impressive streak of 12 consecutive games, sealing her victory.
Throughout the match, Swiatek showcased her prowess, landing 22 winners compared to just two from Tsurenko’s game. In her upcoming match, Swiatek will face either Donna Vekic (seeded 21) or Liudmila Samsonova (seeded 16) for a place in the quarter-finals.
Having already claimed titles in Doha and Stuttgart, Swiatek aims to add another victory to her collection at the WTA 1000 level, as she approaches the highly anticipated French Open. Currently ranked 68th in the world, Tsurenko will take comfort from her surprised start after she broke Swiatek in the opening game, to take on an early 2-0 lead, which is no mean feat.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
