Aryna Sabalenka made a commanding start to the Italian Open on Thursday, powering past Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-3 to reach the third round. The world No. 1 and top seed in the women’s draw needed one hour and 25 minutes to dispatch the Czech, who is a former Wimbledon and Roland Garros champion.
Sabalenka has never won the Italian Open, with her best result being a runner-up finish two years ago to Iga Swiatek. But with the French Open looming, the Belarusian gave no room for Krejcikova to breathe. After dropping her opening service game, Sabalenka took full control and will now face Sorana Cirstea in the next round.
“I’m really happy to get through. She’s a great player. We’ve had many tough matches in the past,” Sabalenka said on court. “Of course, I’m satisfied with the level I showed and getting this difficult win.”
The top seed shares the same half of the draw as Coco Gauff, who defeated Sabalenka in last year’s Roland Garros final. Gauff opened her Rome campaign with an authoritative 6-3, 6-4 win over Tereza Valentova in just under 100 minutes, and will next play Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
Earlier, defending champion Jasmine Paolini launched her title defense with a come-from-behind victory over French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4. The Italian, who is seeking to become the first home player to retain the Rome crown, struggled with unforced errors in the first set but regrouped to advance. Paolini will face Elise Mertens in the third round.
“This match had a lot of ups and downs, for sure. But I remember last year there were also plenty of ups and downs during the tournament,” Paolini commented.
Meanwhile, Matteo Berrettini’s return to Rome ended in disappointment as the Italian fell 6-2, 6-3 to Alexei Popyrin, a result that will push the former Wimbledon finalist out of the ATP top 100. Berrettini has battled abdominal injuries in recent years and has managed only nine wins against 10 losses since the start of the season, when he was forced to retire from the Australian Open.
“It was a pretty bad day. I had no energy and couldn’t use the crowd’s support,” Berrettini admitted. “This year started in a particular way, and the only way forward is to accept that there will be days like this.”
Another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, also bowed out in the first round, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Peru’s Ignacio Buse on center court.