NEW DELHI: Iga Swiatek secured a victory over Angelique Kerber with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-3, setting the stage for a quarter-final showdown against Madison Keys at the Rome Open on Monday.
Despite facing resistance, Swiatek, the world number one, remains unbeaten in sets and is favored to clinch her third Foro Italico crown before defending her French Open title later this month.
The Polish star's journey to the quarter-finals wasn't without its challenges, particularly against former world number one Kerber. Despite Kerber's spirited efforts, Swiatek managed to claim the first set after a tough battle and then rallied from behind in the second set to emerge victorious.
Swiatek's next opponent, Madison Keys, also encountered an unusual disruption during her match against Sorana Cirstea. Activists from Ultima Generazione interrupted the match, causing a 30-minute suspension. Despite the disruption, Keys secured a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win to advance to the next round.
The activists, wearing orange vests, created chaos by throwing liquid and confetti onto the court where Keys was playing, as well as court 12, where a men's doubles match was underway. Their actions led to delays in the proceedings, with tournament officials working to restore order amidst the disturbance.
"Obviously it's not the greatest feeling when you're on court, your first reaction is kind of your own safety," said Keys.
"I think maybe banning cementing glue from bags would be a start.
"It's obviously something that's becoming more of an occurence and something that tournaments are going to have to figure out how to stop."
Daniil Medvedev will continue his title defence against Serbian qualifier Hamad Medjedovic with the men's tournament wide open following a series of big-name exits, the latest being fourth seed Andrey Rublev.
Rome is missing the world's top three men following Novak Djokovic's early elimination on Saturday, with Italian world number two Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz both withdrawing ahead of the event.
And Russian Rublev, fresh from claiming the Madrid title, suffered a shock third-round defeat by French qualifier Alexandre Muller, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Sixth seed and reigning Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is still in the fray after beating Briton Cameron Norrie in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7/1).
Naomi Osaka's return to the Rome Open was ended at the last 16 by China's Zheng Qinwen who breezed past her four-time Grand Slam winning opponent 6-2, 6-4 to set up a last-eight clash with third seed Coco Gauff.
Japan's Osaka, who has never won a title on clay, was playing at the Foro Italico for the first time in three years after taking a break from the tour to have her first child and is ranked at 173 in the world.
"I think I'm happy with my performance in Rome. It's been a while since I played well on -- I guess I've never played well on clay -- so I guess I'm happy," Osaka told reporters.
Later Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will face Elina Svitolina for the first time since their handshake row at last year's French Open.
Belarusian second seed Sabalenka was accused by Ukraine's Svitolina of inflaming tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war after the Roland Garros quarter-final between the pair in 2023.
Sabalenka waited at the net for a handshake after beating Svitolina, even though Svitolina had already insisted she was not going to offer one, as all Ukraine players refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian rivals in protest at the ongoing war.
(With AFP inputs)
