Two-time champion Iga Swiatek eased into the Italian Open semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over 18th seed Madison Keys, and will play either the American third seed Coco Gauff or China’s Zheng Qinwen.
The quarter-final in Rome was a repeat of Swiatek’s recent semi-final clash with Keys in Madrid, which ended with the same scoreline.
The world No 1 broke serve in the opening game, and while Keys won her next service game to love to make it 2-1, the Polish top seed won the next four games to take the first set in 26 minutes. Swiatek needed just one break in the second set, which gave her a 3-1 lead, and when she saved four break points in the next game to hold serve, Keys’ chance of a comeback ended.
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“Honestly I felt really good today, even if I that knew one or two points could change everything,” Swiatek said. “I’m glad that I served well because I think when we were kind of even in the games sometimes, I could win two points just by serving. It’s something that doesn’t happen often in my game, so today was a good day in terms of that.”
Swiatek is aiming to win her fourth title this year having already triumphed at the Qatar Open, Indian Wells and the Madrid Open.