Staff Reporter.
World number one Iga Swiatek beat Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-1 to reach the last 16 of the Madrid Masters.
The Polish top seed, a three-time winner of the French Open, needed only one hour and 18 minutes to win a one-sided third-round match on her favoured surface.
Swiatek, runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid last year, will face Belarusian Victoria Azarenka or Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo next.
“Victoria is a really experienced player who plays well on every surface,” said Swiatek.
“Sara is a Spaniard, will have the home crowd behind her, and is really solid. A fighter as well.
The Madrid Open is the only European clay tournament at the 500 level or above the Polish player has yet to win.
Fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari ended Sloane Stephens’ seven-match winning run with a 6-1, 6-3 win over the American.
On the men’s side, Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro upset Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
The seventh-ranked Tsitsipas fell to Monteiro, ranked 118th, after having run up a 10-1 record on clay going into the match. Tsitsipas won Monte Carlos early this month before reaching the final of Barcelona last week.
“I had a very good opponent on the other side of the net,” Tsitsipas said. “He was coming up with great shots and punishing me every single time I played short.”