Along with her singles title, Jasmine Paolini also paired up with her country mate, Sara Errani as the duo defeated the Russian and Belgian pair of Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Merten.
After returning to tennis at his home tournament – following a three-month doping ban – Jannik Sinner has been in sensational form, disposing off opponents with relative ease.
With the home crowd roaring in support, Sinner sealed the win in just under two hours, cementing his position as one of the tournament favorites.
Ruud, who has enjoyed a solid clay-court season so far, knows the magnitude of the task ahead. While the Norwegian has had success on the ATP Tour, facing Sinner on home soil, especially in such imperious form adds another layer of difficulty.
The meeting was light-hearted, with Pope Leo, a known tennis enthusiast, joking about the high ceilings of the Vatican and the potential for breaking antiques if they played a match.
Jack Draper also talked about the human element in the sport – which often gets neglected – stating how he is getting used to playing a lot of tennis physically and mentally.
The last WTA title of Iga Swiatek’s career was just about 12 months ago when she won the French Open for the fourth time.
Playing in front of an exuberant home crowd at Rome’s Foro Italico, Sinner showed little sign of rust, taking the match 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.
Before her first win as a mother, Petra Kvitova had suffered four straight defeats on the WTA Tour following her return to the sport in February this year.
The world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic ended up losing the quarter final match in the Italian Open to Holger Rune by 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Polish tennis star, Iga Swiatek, winner of Italian Open 2022 at Foro Italico, received less than half of what Novak Djokovic took home for his title.
Djokovic will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the summit clash, who beat his opponent Alexander Zverev in a three-set battle.
The tournament is sponsored by the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), a prominent Italian bank in Rome.