Ashleigh Barty and Iga Swiatek move to Rome quarterfinals

Ashleigh Barty and Iga Swiatek moved on to the Rome Masters quarterfinals after victories on Thursday.

The world number continued her stellar play on clay by taking down Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 6-3. It was a bit of a slow start for Barty but similar to the match against Shvedova she was able to overcome it. After going down 0-2 she went on a rampage winning 6 of the next 7 games to close out the first set 6-3. Kudermetova had chances but Barty once again showcased her mental strength.

Prior to the 2nd set, Kudermetova took a MTO due to an undisclosed injury. The Russian did not drop her level of play in the 2nd set but Barty did not push her too much either. After taking an early break Barty focused on her own serve which she held until the end closing it out with 6-3.

A good win for Barty who moves to the quarterfinals where she will face Coco Gauff who has been on fire in Rome. Joining her in the 2nd round will be Iga Swiatek who had an extremely tough match against Krejcikova. It almost lasted 3 hours and it saw Swiatek save two MP's.

Swiatek never looked comfortable on the court and rushed in many points going for winners sooner than she needed to. Krejcikova played well winning the opening set 6-4. Swiatek was a break down early in the 2nd set but rallied to force a tiebreak saving two MP's in the process.

In the 3rd she was able to outlast Krejcikova who looked tired towards the end of the match and move to the next round. She will either face Muguruza or Svitolina for a spot in the semifinal.