Ash Barty extended her winning streak to 14 matches on clay with a straight-sets defeat of Iga Swiatek at the Madrid Open.
The 2019 French Open champion defeated last year's winner at Roland Garros 7-5 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in the Spanish capital.
Swiatek herself came into the contest having won 18 consecutive sets on clay and took early control of the contest as she went 3-0 up in the opener.
However, Barty recovered thanks to imperious play behind her serve as she won 80 per cent of all points behind her first delivery and avoided being broken for the remainder of the contest.
The world number one was 0-40 down at 3-2 in the second but rallied to hold before seeing out the win.
Barty will now face ninth seed Petra Kvitova in the last eight after she battled past Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 4-6 6-4.
The three-time Madrid Open champion required just over two hours to beat the Russian, who has won more matches in 2021 (22) than anyone except Barty (23).
"Always playing Ash, it's a great challenge," Kvitova said. "It will be a great match-up. I really will enjoy it. I'm really looking forward for it.
"She has a game for clay. She's sliding. She's playing lots of slice and everything... She likes clay a little bit more than me probably. I like Madrid. So, who knows, right?"
Eighth seed Belinda Bencic is also through after Ons Jabeur retired from their match with a thigh injury. She will now face Paula Badosa, who needed more than two and a half hours to defeat Anastasija Sevastova in three sets.
At the L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo, Alize Cornet suffered a surprise defeat in the first round as Oceane Dodin prevailed in a marathon match.
Dodin knocked out the top seed in two hours and 56 minutes, recovering after letting two match points slip in the second-set tie-break to win 7-5 6-7 (8-10) 6-1.
Third seed Alison van Uytvanck also made an early exit as Anna Karolina Schmiedlova came from a set down to prevail 2-6 7-5 6-3.
But Viktorija Golubic was victorious, the fifth seed winning in straight sets against Clara Burel.
Swiatek soars past Keys to seal Italian Open semi-final spot
Iga Swiatek soared through to the Italian Open semi-finals following a dominant straight-sets victory over Madison Keys.
The world number one took just 76 minutes to wrap up a commanding 6-1 6-3 win - matching the scoreline which saw her overcome the American in the Madrid Open last four a fortnight ago.
Swiatek broke her opponent four times and saved all 10 break points she faced on the way to setting up a semi-final showdown with either Coco Gauff or Qinwen Zheng.
Yet to drop a set this week, the Pole remains on course to complete a hat-trick of titles in Rome and land her fourth silverware of 2024, in which she now boasts a 36-4 record.
Data debrief
Reaching her 16th WTA 1000 semi-final from 30 main draws entered, Swiatek (53.3 per cent) surpasses Serena Williams (53.1 per cent, 26 from 49) for the highest rate of last-four appearances in such tournaments since the format's introduction in 2009.
The Pole also took her tally of WTA match wins on clay to 75 from 85, with only Monica Seles, Nancy Richey (both 80), Chris Evert (81) and Margaret Court (82) reaching that figure on surface in fewer matches during the Open Era.
Medvedev pushed all the way to avoid third-round scare in Italian Open
Daniil Medvedev had to dig deep to overcome Hamad Medjedovic at the Italian Open on Monday and stay in with a chance of retaining his title.
Medvedev came out on top with a 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 7-5 victory, but was made to work hard to avoid a third-round upset.
After enduring an up-and-down opening two sets in which he hit 10 double faults, Medvedev rallied into a lead before holding off Medjedovic’s fight-back.
The second seed remained composed to break in the match’s final game to advance after two hours and 50 minutes.
Medvedev will now play Tommy Paul in the next round on Tuesday, with the American seeing off Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-3.
Data Debrief: Reigning champion fights on
Medvedev has reached the last 16 at all 5 Masters 1000 events this season, with only Alexander Zverev able to match that distinction.
It was not an easy ride for him though, as Medjedovic wanted to prove a point against his first Top 10 opponent in what was his first Masters 1000 third round.
Swiatek passes Kerber test to reach Italian Open quarter-finals
Two-time Italian Open champion Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarter-finals of this year's tournament with an impressive 7-5 6-3 win over Angelique Kerber on Monday.
Three-time grand slam winner Kerber provided Swiatek with a real step up after routine victories over Bernarda Pera and Yulia Putintseva in the first two rounds on the clay in Rome.
Kerber responded to Swiatek's first break – which came in the eighth game – with one of her own, but the world number one then recaptured her composure to force a series of break points in Kerber's next two service games, finally converting at the eighth attempt to take the opener.
Kerber refused to go away, breaking straight back in the first game of the second set, but Swiatek upped her game to take the contest away from the 36-year-old.
Swiatek dropped just three further points on her own serve from there, adding three breaks of her own to set up a last-eight meeting with Madison Keys for Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Swiatek unmatched on clay
While Kerber rolled back the years to trouble Swiatek early on, she lacked the staying power to live with the world number one in longer rallies on a surface where she is truly unmatched.
Her win ratio at clay-court events at WTA 1000-level now stands at 88.2 per cent (30 wins, four defeats), the best of any player to have played a minimum of five matches since the format's 2009 introduction, ahead of Serena Williams at 88 per cent.
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