Italian Open: Jabeur progresses; Andreescu through after Raducanu's retirement
Ons Jabeur is making the most out of her form and confidence as she overcame Sorana Cirstea in the round of 64 at the Italian Open in Rome. Jabeur, who won a maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid last week, got past Cirstea in straight sets, winning 6-0, 7-6. Meanwhile, Bianca Andreescu advanced after Emma Raducanu retired with a low back injury. Here's more.
Seventh successive win for Jabeur
Jabeur sealed her seventh successive win after having claimed six in Madrid to lift the title. As per WTA, Jabeur is through to the second round of the Italian Open for the first time. She will be vying for an eighth straight win and a spot in the round of 16, when she takes on Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic next.
Key stats as Jabeur dishes out a win
Jabeur fired one ace compared to none from Cirstea. The Arab international committed three double faults to Cirstea's eight. She also had a 77% win on the first serve and converted five of the eight break points. This was Jabeur's maiden win versus Cirstea as she was trailing 0-2 in the head-to-head series prior to this match.
Raducanu forced to retire
Raducanu has been battling the back issue in recent weeks but needed off-court treatment in the match versus Andreescu. She could not continue against the Canadian, who had a dominant start against the World No. 12 in Rome. 2021 US Open champion Raducanu was trailing 6-2, 2-1 when she decided to retire. Raducanu was earlier ousted in the third round at Madrid Open.
I was definitely disappointed with how today went, says Raducanu
A disappointed Raducanu said she didn't know how bad her injury was. "I was definitely disappointed with how today went, but I guess I wanted to give it a try," Raducanu said. "I never really knew how bad it was until I kind of went out there." Raducanu said she is learning when it's right to push her body and when it's not.
Other key results in women's singles
Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-2 and will face Maria Sakkari next. Amanda Anisimova prevailed in three sets versus Tereza Martincova. She won 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 and will face 12th seed Belinda Bencic. Madrid Open finalist Jessica Pegula survived against Ludmilla Samsonova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Jeļena Ostapenko saw off Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-3 in straight sets.
