Defending Italian Open champion Jasmine Paolini was put through her paces as she needed to come from a set down to defeat Leolia Jeanjean in her second-round clash.
Paolini, who beat Coco Gauff in the 2025 final, showcased her resilience against the French qualifier to seal a 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4 win in an almost three-hour battle on Thursday.
Both players struggled during their own service games, as six breaks of serve came in the first nine games of the opening set, with a tie-break needed to split the pair.
And the tie-break went in Jeanjean's favour, but Paolini dusted herself down and opened the second set by reeling off the first three games to put herself in control.
Jeanjean got herself back on track with a break of her own, but Paolini responded
by winning three of the final four games to ensure that the match would go the distance.
Paolini and Jeanjean traded blows in the third set, but the latter was the first to blink in a mammoth seventh game that saw the Italian squander four break points before converting the fifth.
The two-time grand slam finalist sealed her date with Elise Mertens in the next round with a love service game that ended with a brilliant backhand to the right baseline.
FORZA! @JasminePaolini is back winning in Rome!#IBI26 pic.twitter.com/R0i8nwj2tb
— wta (@WTA) May 7, 2026
Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, responded to her Madrid Open final defeat in style as she needed just over an hour to defeat Antonia Ruzic in the second round.
Andreeva was beaten by Marta Kostyuk in the Spanish capital last Saturday, but she returned to her best with a convincing 6-1 6-0 victory at BNP Paribas Arena.
The 19-year-old set the tone for her victory with back-to-back love games, one of which was against the serve, as she quickly raced into a commanding 4-0 advantage.
Ruzic got herself on the scoreboard soon after, but the damage had already been done as Andreeva reeled off the final two games and sealed the set at the third time of asking.
And from there, Andreeva continued to assert her dominance and won the second set in just 36 minutes, teeing up a clash with Viktorija Golubic for a place in the third round.
Paolini back ruling Rome as Andreeva matches Rybakina in 2026
While Paolini's victory was far from convincing, only at Roland-Garros (12) and Indian Wells (10) has she claimed more wins in her career at a single WTA-level event than at the Italian Open (nine).
But for Andreeva, she continues to thrive on clay. Since the format's introduction in 1990, only Martina Hingis (35), Jennifer Capriati (24) and Iva Majoli (21) have more wins on clay Tier1/WTA-1000 events as a teenager than her 19.
The victory also marked her 27th win of the season, matching Elena Rybakina for the most on the WTA Tour in 2026, though the second seed could pull clear again on Friday.
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