ROME — No. 4 seed Iga Swiatek took the scenic route into the Internazionali BNL d’Italia third round, surviving a valiant comeback from Caty McNally to win 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 in 2 hours, 43 minutes.
At 6-1, 3-1, the three-time Rome champion Swiatek appeared to be cruising through her opener. Her topspin was jumping off the court, she was striking a series of forehand winners, and she was breaking down McNally’s drive backhand in extended rallies. But she squandered three break points for a 4-1 lead with cheap unforced errors, and from that point on the match turned into a battle.
McNally — the only player to win a set from Swiatek at Wimbledon last year — had never beaten the Polish star at pro level. But she did have a memorable victory over Swiatek on clay — a 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 comeback in the 2018 Roland Garros junior event. As McNally began to impose her touch on the match, she threatened a similar turnaround.
Swiatek served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set and reached 30-30 both times, only to lapse into errors, getting broken on backhands that sailed well over the baseline on each occasion.
As her accuracy wavered, McNally grew more effective at drawing mistakes from Swiatek with her defense. McNally’s slice had little impact through the first set and a half, but her ability to reset points with it became a key factor in turning the second set.
In the third set, it nearly unraveled again for Swiatek. She broke McNally for 3-1, but missed a chance to extend the lead to 4-1 with a double fault, then handed the break straight back with a string of errors.
But this time, Swiatek regained her focus. As McNally held a point to level at 4-4, Swiatek swatted away a return to deny her. Two dialed-in clean winners followed, and then the break for 5-3. There would be no repeat of her second-set travails. Solid offensive patterns brought Swiatek to match point, and she converted as McNally sent a forehand just wide.
Swiatek will next face either No. 28 seed Emma Navarro or home hope Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
