By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday May 16, 2023
Iga Swiatek moved past Donna Vekic in straight sets to set a first ever clay court meeting with Elena Rybakina.
Photo Source: Photo credit: Robert Prange/Getty
Iga Swiatek was beaten the very first time she took her place in the main draw at Rome, in 2020.
Since then it has been one-way traffic for the Polish juggernaut, who has reeled off titles in 2021 and 2022 and on Tuesday took her place in the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Donna Vekic.
Make it 14 on the trot at the fabled Foro Italico for Swiatek, but the Pole’s next challenge promises to be a stern one.
Swiatek, who improved to 4-0 vs. Vekic and 28-5 on the season, will next face the woman who has defeated her twice in 2023 without the loss of a set: Elena Rybakina.
The 21-year-old World No.1 will look to tip the scales in her favor on her beloved clay, where she is 11-1 on the season and 56-8 lifetime, but Rybakina, who has yet to drop a set in Rome (just like Swiatek) is no slouch on the red clay.
She may be a work in progress on the surface, but we shouldn’t forget that Rybakina is a former Roland-Garros quarterfinalist that owns a 7-2 lifetime record at Rome, where she reached her first quarterfinal on Monday with a 6-3, 6-3 win over 2019 Roland-Garros runner-up Marketa Vondrousova.
At 27-7 on the season, Rybakina is showing no signs of slowing down. It will be up to Swiatek to exploit her advantage on her best surface to take some of the power back in the pair’s rivalry.
Swiatek fell to Rybakina 6-4 6-4 in the round of 16 at the Australian Open and 6-2 6-2 in the semifinals at Indian Wells.
On Tuesday she had to work hard to separate herself from Vekic. The Pole converted all three of her break opportunities and saved six of seven break points to become the sixth player to record 14 straight victories in Rome. She joins an illustrious group that includes Chris Evert, Conchita Martinez, Gabriela Sabatini, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.
“It’s not gonna be easy, obviously,” Swiatek said of the impending Rybakina challenge. “She’s in great shape this season so it’s going to be challenging but I’m ready for it. I still feel really comfortable on clay.”