Swiatek unlocks Keys, again

Rome, May 14

Advertisement

Two-time champion Iga Swiatek eased into the Italian Open semifinals with a 6-1 6-3 win over 18th seed Madison Keys. The quarterfinal was a repeat of Swiatek’s recent semifinal clash with America’s Keys in Madrid, which ended with the same scoreline.

World No. 1 Swiatek 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 the Pole saved four break points in the next game to hold serve, Keys’ chance of a comeback ended.

“Honestly, I felt really good today, even if I knew that 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.” — Reuters

Tabilo’s run continues

Alejandro Tabilo backed up his stunning third-round win against top-ranked Novak Djokovic by edging Karen Khachanov 7-6(5) 7-6(10) to reach a Masters quarterfinal for the first time.