Pegula enters Italian Open second round after Samsonova thriller

Jessica Pegula enjoyed a winning start to her Italian Open campaign on Tuesday, squeezing past world number 25 Liudmila Samsonova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the second round. A runner-up to Ons Jabeur in the Spanish capital on Saturday, Pegula withstood 38 winners from the big-hitting Samsonova to set up a last-32 showdown with in-form Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina. The 13th-seeded Pegula, who played with a heavily-strapped left thigh against Samsonova, made the quarter-finals in Rome last season and has improved her 2022 win-loss tally to 18-9.

Meanwhile, former French Open champion and number 11 seed Jelena Ostapenko was sent packing by American qualifier Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-3 in just one hour and 10 minutes. Following a strong early-season stretch that saw her make the semi-finals in St. Petersburg and Doha, and clinch the title in Dubai, Ostapenko is currently on a five-match losing streak.

American world number 32 Amanda Anisimova recovered from a second-set bagel to overcome Czech qualifier Tereza Martincova 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. Anisimova, a former Roland Garros semi-finalist, will take on Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in the next round, looking to make the last-16 stage in Rome for the first time. In the men's tournament, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas will square off for the second time in seven days after the Bulgarian moved past American qualifier Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-4 in first round action on Tuesday.