Iga Swiatek rivalling Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, with 25-match winning run

Iga Swiatek is moving into rarefied air. The world No. 1 won her 25th match in a row as she beat two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka to reach the quarter-finals of the Italian Open.

Ad/> Swiatek came from 0-3 down to edge a 79-minute opening set before winning 6-4 6-1 to set up a quarter-final clash with Bianca Andreescu. WTA RomeSwiatek battles past Azarenka for 25th straight win4 HOURS AGO Only four women have compiled longer winning streaks this century – Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Justine Henin and Azarenka. Venus Williams won 35 matches in a row from Wimbledon 2000 to the Linz final later that year, while Serena Williams’ longest winning run was 34 matches in 2013 from the Miami Open to Wimbledon.

Henin reeled off 32 wins in a row, ending in the 2008 Australian Open quarter-finals, and Azarenka had a 26-match winning run at the start of 2012 from Sydney to Miami. Serena Williams also had a 27-match streak from the 2014 WTA Finals to the 2015 Madrid Open semi-finals. Swiatek battles past Azarenka for 25th straight win Rome Diary: Osaka's revolutionary move Swiatek will move to fourth on the list with 28 victories if she defends her Italian Open title this week.

Looking ahead to her first career meeting with Andreescu, Swiatek said: “Bianca’s a great player. Watching her last year, it really struck me how much variety she has, the drop shots. It's really nice to watch her game.