Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka both secured their spots in the last 32 of the Italian Open on Friday, but the day was overshadowed by a serious injury to Swiatek's newly hired coach, Francisco Roig.
Roig, a former coach of Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu, suffered a torn Achilles tendon during a promotional event in Rome. The injury occurred on Saturday, and he underwent surgery in Warsaw on Tuesday. Swiatek confirmed the news after her match, stating, "He did a split step and tore his Achilles. We kind of took care of him."
On court, three-time Rome champion Swiatek was pushed to three sets by American Caty McNally, eventually winning 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3. Swiatek appeared in control early, leading 6-1, 3-1, but a series of unforced errors allowed McNally to fight back and claim the second set.
"For sure, not an easy first match," Swiatek commented. "The conditions were kind of heavy. The ball was flying slow. So we had many long rallies." She struggled to serve out the match in the second set, getting broken twice while serving for the win, but regained her composure in the decider.
"I was really happy with the first set, then I made some mistakes," Swiatek added. "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."
No 15 seed Naomi Osaka also faced a tough challenge, needing three sets to overcome Germany's Eva Lys 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Osaka built a 5-2 lead in the first set but failed to convert a set point and couldn't serve out the opener at 5-3. She eventually broke Lys in the tenth game to take the set.
The second set saw momentum shift as Osaka lost four consecutive games after leading 2-0. Lys capitalized to level the match. In the third set, Osaka broke serve three times, finally sealing the victory on her fourth match point while serving at 5-3.
Swiatek will next face either No 28 seed Emma Navarro or Elisabetta Cocciaretto, while Osaka is set to meet No 19 seed Diana Shnaider in the third round. Based on reporting from SkySports | News.