Swiatek whitewashes Pliskova to capture Italian Open
Poland’s Iga Swiatek inflicted a double bagel scoreline on Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Italian Open to lift her second trophy of the year.
No15 seed Swiatek was in ruthless form as she routed number nine Pliskova 6-0 6-0 in just 46 minutes on Sunday.
Swiatek dropped just 13 points in total — four in the first set and nine in the second — and faced only four game points against her.
The Pole picks up her third career title after Roland Garros last autumn and Adelaide in February, and the result ensures that she will break the top 10 for the first time on Monday.
It was the first ever double bagel to decide the Rome title, and the most one-sided Italian Open final since 1983, when Andrea Temesvari defeated Bonnie Gadusek 6-1, 6-0.
The last double bagel in a WTA final was Simona Halep’s victory over Anastasija Sevastova at Bucharest in 2016.
Swiatek had never before scored a double bagel win at pro level, though notably had defeated Pliskova’s twin sister, Kristyna, 6-0 6-1 to reach her first WTA final at Lugano 2019.
For Pliskova, it is just the second time in her career that she has failed to win a game in a completed match after her 6-0 6-0 loss as a 17-year-old to Anna Korzeniak in the 2009 Latinanascosa ITF $10K quarterfinals. A former champion in Rome in 2019 and playing her third consecutive final in the Italian capital, a leg injury had forced Pliskova to retire trailing Halep 6-0 2-1 last year.
Swiatek raced out of the blocks and never let up, striking 17 winners to only five unforced errors over the course of the match. By contrast, a slowstarting Pliskova served two double faults in each of her first two service games, and did not find a winner until she was set point down after 19 minutes.
Matters improved for Pliskova in the second set and she held two break points in the third game and two points to hold in the sixth.
The 19-year-old swatted away every opportunity that Pliskova had to even get on the board with renewed focus, and brought up championship point with another brilliant forehand winner.
Swiatek’s combination of heavy spin and pace allowed her to exploit Pliskova’s movement throughout the match, and she sealed victory as the Czech sent a forehand wide.
The result extends Swiatek’s record in finals at all levels to an impressive 16-3 — 6-2 in juniors, 7-0 in ITF events and now 3-1 at WTA level.
Swiatek is the third player to win a title after saving match point en route in 2021, with Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open and Ashleigh Barty in Miami.