Hailey Baptiste: Swiatek Survives McNally in 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 Win

Iga Swiatek survived a sharp Caty McNally comeback in Rome, beating her 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 in 2 hours, 43 minutes. The No. 4 seed and three-time Rome champion reached the Internazionali BNL d’Italia third round after twice failing to serve out the match in the second set.

Swiatek Builds Early Margin

Swiatek opened fast and led 6-1, 3-1 before McNally forced the match into a different rhythm. She still had three break points for a 4-1 lead in the first set, but McNally kept the first set from turning into a rout.

The second set brought the real swing. Swiatek served for the match at 5-4 and again at 6-5, and each time she was broken after reaching 30-30. McNally then pushed her into a tiebreak, taking the set 7-6.

McNally Pushes Back

That recovery fit the history between them. McNally had not beaten Swiatek at the pro level before this match, but she had already taken her in a 2018 Roland Garros junior clay-court comeback and was the only player to win a set from her at Wimbledon last year.

Swiatek described the conditions as demanding after the match. “For sure, not an easy first match,” she said. “The conditions were kind of heavy. The ball was flying slow. So we had many long rallies, many moments where you could create a lot on the court.”

Third Set Control

Swiatek reset quickly enough to take charge again in the decider. She broke McNally for 3-1, then missed a chance to stretch that lead to 4-1 with a double fault, but she kept enough control to finish the match 6-3.

Her own assessment fit the seesaw scoreline. “I was really happy with the first set, then I made some mistakes,” she said. “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.”

Rome Draw Continues

Swiatek now moves on to face either No. 28 seed Emma Navarro or Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The result keeps the Roman favorite alive in a tournament she has already won three times, and it came after a match that forced her to answer the same problem twice before she finally closed it out.