Iga Swiatek closes in on Italian Open crown and Venus Williams's unbeaten record

Swiatek, who is the defending champion in Rome, beat Bianca Andreescu 7-6 6-0 inside one hour and 44 minutes to set up a mouth-watering semi-final encounter against Aryna Sabalenka. 

"Being in that kind of group is like a dream come true for me," Swiatek told wta.com. "I wouldn't think of that when I was younger. I'm pretty happy that I could do that because consistency was the thing I really wanted to work on last year. This year I feel like it clicked."

Despite winning in straight sets, Swiatek was certainly given a run for her money in the opener as Andreescu took a 3-2 lead.

The set went down to a tiebreak, but despite a tense affair, Swaitek showed her class, and her cool, as she powered to a 7-2 win.

After a nail-biting opener, the second set proved far more comfortable with the Pole winning 6-0.

XXVI wins