Former French Open quarter-finalist withdraws from the Italian Open after winning opening match

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The Italian Open roars on in Rome, with plenty of shocks having taken place across the early stages of the tournament.

Americans have particularly struggled, with WTA stars Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula both already out of the Italian Open, along with Iga Swiatek.

And many of their high-profile ATP counterparts have also exited, including American trio Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.

But such shocks have not been limited to just results, with plenty of withdrawals having also taken place in Rome.

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Italian Open before the competition got underway, followed by a handful of other big names.

Laura Siegemund withdraws from Italian Open after beating Lucia Bronzetti

Petra Kvitova and Paula Badosa withdrew from the Italian Open with injury, shortly after Marketa Vondrousova had done the same.

And the trio have now been followed by Laura Siegemund, who had just won her opener against Lucia Bronzetti.

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Siegemund, who had been knocked out in qualifying, was scheduled to play Jelena Ostapenko in round three.

The 37-year-old German had been a lucky loser, with her scheduled opponent Ostapenko now advancing to a round of 16 clash with Jasmine Paolini.

Laura Siegemund Grand Slam doubles finals record

Siegemund took full advantage of her lucky loser status at the Italian Open, knocking out home favourite Bronzetti.

The latter was certainly one to watch in Rome, not only due to playing on home soil but also because she had just knocked Naomi Osaka out of the Madrid Open.

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But Siegemund used all of her experience to pick up the impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory before her unfortunate withdrawal.

She is currently ranked 101st in the WTA rankings, with a 2020 French Open quarter-final finish representing her best result at Grand Slam level.

The veteran is, of course, a very established doubles player, with the former world number four boasting 15 career titles.

That includes the 2020 US Open title, which she won with Vera Zvonareva, with the pair having also lost the 2023 final.