Italian Open: Iga Swiatek double-bagels Karolina Pliskova to win title in style ahead of French Open

Updated 16/05/2021 at 14:34 GMT

Polish French Open champion Iga Swiatek put in a relentless display against Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Italian Open on Sunday afternoon. The 19-year-old rising star won by a 6-0 6-0 scoreline as she was able to secure an excellent piece of preparation for the defence of her 2020 title at Roland Garros.

Iga Swiatek of Poland poses with the winners trophy after defeating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-0 6-0 in the women's final at Foro Italico on May 16, 2021 in Rome

Image credit: Getty Images

Iga Swiatek double-bagelled Karolina Pliskova to win the Italian Open in style on Sunday ahead of the French Open.

The 19-year-old Polish player lost only 13 points as she swatted aside Pliskova, and achieved a top 10 ranking as a result of the win, which took just three-quarters of an hour.

Pliskova only managed to win a paltry four points in the entire opening set, and Swiatek said that she had even surprised herself with her win.

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"You know, I’m really happy. I’m overwhelmed," she said after the match.

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"At the beginning of this tournament I wouldn’t even dream of winning. It was super tough, we had to fight a lot of stuff.

Karolina obviously had a great run here and in previous years. She’s showing she’s a really consistent player so congrats for the week.

Pliskova, meanwhile, simply said she was aiming to come back swiftly from the disappointment.

"I mean, definitely not the best day in this tournament. I think Iga was playing great tennis today and all the week. Congratulations to her and her team," she said.

"You have days like this in tennis where things are not going your way. That was the day today. I still tried but it was just not working for me. I will just quickly forget about today. I had some great matches here. To reach a final is always a great week, great tournament."