Three of the five top seeds in the women’s draw were upset Saturday at the Italian Open in Rome. On Sunday, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff made sure it did not happen again.
Top seed Sabalenka came from behind to defeat former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, while the fourth-seeded Gauff defeated Magda Linette of Poland 7-5, 6-3. Both Sabalenka and Gauff move into the Round of 16.
Sabalenka needed two hours, 13 minutes to win a match in which she set a personal best — 23 break-point opportunities, of which she converted seven.
It was the No. 31 seed, Kenin, who took control of the service breaks in the first set, winning three games on break point.
But Sabalenka, of Belarus, kicked into another gear in the second set.
“I was going really tough on myself,” Sabalenka said after the match. “It was a tough match — she played incredible tennis in the first set. It was a great fight and super happy to get this match.”
Sabalenka turned the tables on Kenin in the second set, breaking her serve three times. And she moved ahead in the third set when she went up 2-0, breaking Kenin on the seventh break point of the second game.
Sabalenka, who won the title on the clay courts in Madrid by beating Gauff last weekend, is seeking her first championship at the Italian Open. And after losses Saturday by No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 5 Madison Keys, Sabalenka has the inside track to the Rome title.
First, she must get past Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, who defeated No. 24 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday.
Gauff advanced to the fourth round at the Italian Open for the third time in her career with her win over Linette. In the next round, she will meet former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu, who was a 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 winner over Russian Veronika Kudermetova.
In the first set, Gauff struggled, racking up 24 unforced errors to nine winners. With the match tied 5-5, however, Gauff won eight of nine points to claim the first set. In the second set, she won on her fifth match point.
No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia advanced with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over No. 30 Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic. Andreeva next faces No. 22 Clara Tauson of Switzerland. Tauson saved 7 of 8 break points while rallying for a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 win over No. 10 Emma Navarro.
In other action, Canada’s Bianca Andreescu knocked out No. 11 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-4. In the fourth round, she will play No. 8 Qinwen Zhang of China, who registered a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 26 Magdalena Frech of Poland.
–Field Level Media
