May 12, (THEWILL) – Iga Swiatek, aiming for her third consecutive Italian Open title, started her campaign in impressive fashion as the top seed delivered a resounding 6-0, 6-0 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Swiatek displayed relentless determination under the Roman sun, storming to a swift win in just 67 minutes, and setting up a clash with Lesia Tsurenko or 28th seed Bernarda Pera in the next round.
The world number one arrived in the Eternal City following a disappointing defeat in the Madrid Open final against Aryna Sabalenka. Swiatek wasted no time asserting her dominance, breaking Pavlyuchenkova twice in succession to quickly establish a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Russian faced a valiant effort to prevent a double bagel but was unable to fend off the relentless assault from Swiatek, conceding the first set 6-0 in just 34 minutes. Swiatek is still in pursuit of her first WTA 1000 title of the season after claiming victories at the Doha and Stuttgart WTA 500 events. The 21-year-old is now focused on defending her Rome crown ahead of the French Open in May.
In a fortunate turn of events for Swiatek, she is guaranteed to avoid a rematch against Sabalenka in Italy, as the second seed suffered a surprising loss to 134th-ranked Sofia Kenin, citing exhaustion.
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.
