French Open champion Iga Swiatek warned she was “ready for anyone” as she takes on former winner Karolina Pliskova in the Italian Open final on Sunday.
Ex-world No 1 Pliskova saw off Croatia’s Petra Martic 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 to return to the final of a tournament she won in 2019 and finished runner-up last year.
Ninth seed Pliskova is the only top 10 player remaining but faces a battle with 19-year-old Swiatek, who continued her Roland Garros warm-up with back-to-back wins on Saturday.
Swiatek first ousted fifth seed Elina Svitolina, a two-time Rome winner, 6-2, 7-5 in 1hr 36min in their quarterfinal match which had been pushed back from Friday because of rain.
She then saw off 17-year-old American Coco Gauff 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in the semifinals in 1hr 45min.
“I knew it was going to be tough,” said the 15th-seed of her marathon day.
“I played with no expectations. I was taking it step by step.
“Beating Elina shows that my game is here, I’m ready for anyone. It really gave me a confidence boost.
“If my game is going to be there tomorrow, I can do anything.”
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