Ekaterina Makarova eased past Roberta Vinci 6-2 6-1 in one hour and 19 minutes at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia at the Foro Italico in Rome.
Makarova went up a double break to open up a 4-1 lead in the first set. Vinci saved two set points in the final point but Makarova served out for the first set on her third set point after 31 minutes. The Russian player went up a set and a break at the start of the second set. In the fourth game she saved the only two break points she faced before breaking serve on her third chance after a hard-fought game to open up a 4-1 lead. Makarova rallied from 0-40 down to get her fifth break on her second match point and closed out the second set after 41 minutes.
Australian qualifier Daria Gavrilova came back from a break down in the third set to beat last year’s finalist Madison Keys 2-6 7-5 7-5 after 2 hours and 35 minutes to reach the second round.
Keys, who came into today’s match with a 3-4 win-loss record after undergoing wrist surgery last winter, broke twice in the sixth and eighth games to race out to a 6-2 win in the first set after 37 minutes. Gavrilova failed to convert two set points in the 10th game of the second set, as the US player fought back from 2-5 down. Gavrilova broke serve to love and served it out to force the match to the decisive third set.
Keys broke serve three times in the decider but Gavrilova broke straight back each time. At 5-5 Gavrilova hit aggressive returns and dropshots to break serve to love before serving out for the match with her first ace on the match point.
Number 5 seed Johanna Konta cruised through to a 6-3 6-0 win over Yulia Putintseva, although the match was not so easy as the scoreline suggests. Konta won eight of the nine deuce games and hit six aces and 36 winners. On the contrary Putintseva failed to convert on her four break point chances and made 32 unforced errors.
Konta broke serve in the fifth game on her third opportunity. The British player sealed the first set with another break on her fifth set point.
In the second set Putintseva fought back from 0-40 down to force the fifth game to deuce at 0-4 and did not convert two break points. Konta reeled off six of of the last seven points of the match and converted on the first match point to secure her spot in the third round. Konta will face the winner of the match between Venus Williams and Lesla Tsurenko.
