Former champion Iga Swiatek started her Italian Open campaign with a tremendous performance against Bernarda Pera.
Swiatek played her best tennis last week in Madrid, going all the way and beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final. They played there in the final last year, and Swiatek failed to win that one but avenged it this year.
That good play continued in Rome, as she scored her seventh consecutive win. She's playing really well, and Pera felt it early on in their match. Swiatek took an early lead, 3-0, even though Pera had some good moments.
The American tried to be as aggressive as possible because if you give Swiatek time on the ball, she's going to blow you off the court. Despite Pera's best efforts, the Pole figured out a way to counter her fairly quickly.
That 3-0 lead became a 5-0 lead, and another break sealed the bagel. It was the seventh time Swiatek won a set 6-0 this year, which actually ties her at number one with Coco Gauff.
The second set didn't feature a bagel because Pera actually won her first service game in that set. Swiatek still continued to be largely unbothered on her own serve even though Pera could find some pressure at times.
Swiatek's second serve was a preferred target because she could unleash all her power. It was a match of baseline rallies, and Swiatek was simply sharper much more often.
That's how their previous match in Madrid last year also went, and a similar thing happened here as well. The crucial game of the second set was the fourth one, in which Swiatek had multiple break points before she finally converted and took a 3-1 lead.
From there, it was a rather simple cruise to the finish line. The final score was 6-0, 6-2 for the top seed.
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