Danka Kovinic has continued her good displays in Rome as she won her 4th straight match at the event. Her run that started in the qualifiers continued today with a stellar performance against Belinda Bencic who is going home after plying one match in Rome. It wasn't a good display from the Swiss who hasn't played since July.

The match started off slow with both player's serving well and holding their serve. The crucial moment of the 1st set and ultimately match was when Bencic lost her serve late in the set. She gave Kovinic a 5-3 lead which the Montenegrin converted into a 6-3 1st set victory. That 1st set loss was crushing for Bencic as she had two break points to rebreak her opponent but failed.

It would completely crush her confidence which resulted in a horrendous 2nd set for her. She would lose her serve 3 times getting completely swept by Kovinic who would win it 6-1. It was a strong display for Kovinic who took her chances to secure an important win for her.

Elise Mertens has been one of the best WTA player's since the restart. While she did not win anything her steady display of form earner her a few good finishes at recent events. She continued her great run in Rome as well as defeating Magda Linette in straight sets. Magda is a tough opponent especially on clay but Mertens didn't care.

Mertens immediately broke her opponent to take a 1-0 lead. One game later she broke her again to take a 4-0 lead. She would go on to wrap up the set at 6-2. She continued to dominate in the 2nd set as well again taking an early break. She would hold it till the end of the set to take a 6-4 2nd set victory booking a spot in the next round.

https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1306177541900705794