Iga Swiatek narrowly came through her first match at the Italian Open on Friday.
The Pole, who retired from her second match at the Madrid Open due to illness, was tested in her Rome opener against American star Caty McNally.
Swiatek won the first set convincingly, but McNally rallied back and emerged victorious in a tiebreak to force a decider, in which she came out on top, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3.
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So far, the six-time major champion has recorded a disappointing season by her standards, having failed to make it past the quarterfinals of any tour-level event.
In her final clay-court tune-up tournament before Roland Garros, Swiatek is looking to build some momentum.
Iga Swiatek looks ahead to the 2026 edition of Roland Garros
Asked how she feels her level is heading into Roland Garros, Swiatek replied: “Yeah, for sure I wanted to play more matches.
“It’s something that I feel like I’m lacking. I want to play more. There are some moments on the match where you can see I’m a little bit rusty with playing points.
“I think I need more matches to gain some confidence in different situations. I’m happy that I won this one today ’cause it gives me another chance.”
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Swiatek’s match against McNally was just her fifth of the clay season so far across three tournaments.
She lost in the third round of both the Stuttgart Open and the Madrid Open to Mirra Andreeva and Ann Li, respectively.
Iga Swiatek reacts to her performance in the first round of Rome
Discussing her performance against McNally, Swiatek said: “For sure not an easy first match. The conditions were kind of heavy.
“The ball was flying slow. So we had many, like, long rallies, many moments where you could create a lot on the court.
“I was really happy with the first set, then I made some mistakes. Also Caty, I felt like she was playing one more ball in, really grinding in defense.
“I needed to be patient. I’m happy at the end of the match I was solid and I used the right balls to attack, but was also patient enough to stay in the rally.”
Swiatek is seeded fourth at this year’s Italian Open and is a three-time former champion in Rome.
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