Iga Swiatek progressed to the fourth round of the Italian Open by overcoming Yulia Putintseva on Saturday, fighting back from 4-1 down in the second set for a 6-3 6-4 win.

The world number one needed one hour and 47 minutes to see off Putintseva, who gave Swiatek her toughest test yet in Rome, finding success with a series of drop shots to build a healthy lead in the second set.

However, Swiatek fended off four break points to avoid going 5-1 down then produced back-to-back breaks as the momentum shifted, with Putintseva having no answer for her power from there.

Swiatek – who is looking to build on last week's triumph at the Madrid Open – will now face either Angelique Kerber or Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the last 16 on Monday.

23 - Iga Swiatek has matched Jessica Pegula (23) for the most WTA-1000 R16s reached since 2020. Swiatek (23) is currently one of three players with 20+ R16s over that span along with Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka (20). Benchmark.#IBI24 | @InteBNLdItalia @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/Rm9WMjgIbK

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) May 11, 2024

Data Debrief: No stopping Swiatek

While Swiatek was tested on Saturday, it was an examination she passed with flying colours as she made it 25 straight clay-court wins against opponents ranked outside the world's top 10.

She is the first player on the WTA Tour to achieve that feat since Serena Williams did so in 2016.