Iga Swiatek defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0 in 65 minutes Sunday to reach the Rome fourth round for the fifth time. She joined No. 15 seed Naomi Osaka, who earlier in the day scored an equally dominant win over No. 19 seed Diana Shanider to advance to her third straight Round of 16 in Rome.
Osaka needed just 54 minutes to dispatch Shnaider, dropping only three games in a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
As a result, the two multi-time Grand Slam champions -- who account for 10 Major titles combined -- will meet in a marquee fourth-round matchup at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. It will be their fourth meeting at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level and their first since 2024. Swiatek leads the head-to-head 2-1.
Their most recent clash was an instant classic: a second-round thriller at Roland Garros in which the then No. 1-ranked Swiatek outlasted Osaka 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 after saving a match point en route to a third straight French Open title.
The now-World No. 3 expects a similar challenge this time.
"She's a great player," Swiatek said in her on-court interview after beating Cocciaretto. "We've played a lot and (had) a really tough match at Roland Garros two years ago, so I know what she can bring and how well she can play when she feels the ball. So I'll prepare technically and I'll be ready."
If you're saying to yourself, "That scoreline looks familiar," you're right. Swiatek and Cocciaretto met for the first time last year in the second round in Rome, and Swiatek won handily, dropping just one game.
Sunday was a case of wash, rinse, repeat for the three-time Rome champion. She stormed out of the gates, breaking in the second game and again in the sixth to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Moments later, she closed the opening set the same way she started it -- with an ace.
Cocciaretto appeared on track to secure a rare hold while trailing 2-0 in the second set before a brief rain delay halted play for a few minutes. Swiatek won four straight points after play resumed, finishing the game with a forehand winner to break for 3-0.
Swiatek won the last nine games against a seemingly hampered Cocciaretto, who received a brief visit from the physio late in the first set. But regardless of Cocciaretto's condition, it was a much-needed show of dominance from Swiatek, whose focus throughout was on her execution.
"I just wanted to be solid and focus on myself no matter what the score was," Swiatek said. "Sometimes at the end of the match it's easy for the opponent to let go and just go for it. So I wanted to just play as I planned and how I played the whole match, and at the end it worked. I really liked how I played today. My serve was good, I was opening up the court, so it was really nice."
Cocciaretto did let go at the end, saving three match points and earning her first three break points in the final game, but Swiatek didn't waver. Instead, she converted her fourth match point to secure the win. Swiatek finished with 17 winners to 11 unforced errors and won 72% of her service points, a level she'll hope to carry into her meeting with Osaka.
If there was one word to describe Osaka's week, stunning might do the trick -- first at the Met Gala, and then on court, especially on Sunday. In what was perhaps her most complete performance of the 2026 season, Osaka dismantled Shnaider, who reached the Rome quarterfinals last year before falling to eventual champion Jasmine Paolini in three sets.
Like Swiatek, Osaka broke in the second game and again in the sixth for a 5-1 lead before taking the first set in 24 minutes. She continued to face little resistance in the second, unleashing a backhand winner from outside the court to help her break for 3-2, then breaking again in the penultimate game to more within one game of victory.
Finally today truly felt like vintage Iga (yes Cociaretto doesn't really have weapons to hurt her but still).
She kept her focus from start to finish even made sure not to get broken and punctuated it with a bagel.
That's the front runner mentality we're all familiar with.
Feels like a breath of fresh air, even if it doesn't make for the most entertaining of matches.
I think Iga needed a win like today.
Just to remind herself how well her game works on clay and how good she feels on it.
Beyond great to see.
Of course with this win she set up a rematch of sorts with Naomi Osaka on clay (when they met in round 2 of Roland Garros few years ago it was an instant classic) and one people talk about till this day.
Hard to say if this one will live up to it, but if they can bring at least half the level they showed in that match it'll be popcorn worthy.
And I for one can't wait.
The only thing that would make this better is if they were playing in a final instead of 4th round.
Win or lose I hope Iga takes some confidence from it in time for Roland Garros.
Excited would be an understatement.
Is it tomorrow yet?.
Jazda!
No comments:
Post a Comment