American Danielle Collins upset world No. 2 Iga Świątek, who has dominated the Italian Open recently, winning it three of the last four years as she has been almost invincible on clay.
Collins, the No. 29 seed, ultimately cruised to a comprehensive 6-1, 7-5 win over Świątek who endured a poor serving display and was broken five consecutive times during the match.
Following the loss, Świątek will lose her world No. 2 ranking, ending a remarkable run of more than three years when she has occupied one of the top two spots in the world.
For Collins, the result marked just her second win over Świątek in nine meetings and means she will progress to the fourth round where she will face Elina Svitolina.
“After losing to Iga so many times, you obviously learn from those experiences, matchups,” she said afterwards, per the WTA. “Even though the last couple times we’ve played she’s beaten me, I’ve played some of my best tennis in those matches.
“So that gave me confidence.”
Jannik Sinner has ‘remarkable’ return to tennis after doping ban
Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner enjoyed a winning return to tennis on Saturday after serving a three-month doping ban, as he defeated Mariano Navone in front of a rapturous crowd at his home Italian Open.