Marta Kostyuk (27) breezed into the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome, Italy. In her opening match, she decisively defeated Philippine player Alexandra Eala (70).

The match lasted 1 hour and 3 minutes, ending with a score of 6-0, 6-1 in favor of the Ukrainian.

The turning point of the encounter was the first game, which lasted over ten minutes, with Kostyuk finally winning it on her fifth break point. After that, she played confidently and freely. It raised questions about how Eala reached the semifinals of the Miami event just a month ago.

The only game won by the Philippine player came at 0-6, 0-4, marking her last success in the match.

Notably, Kostyuk has now won 11 sets without dropping a game in the main draw of the WTA tour and this is her third occurrence this year. In all 11 matches where this happened, the Ukrainian emerged victorious.

During the match, Marta served 2 aces, had no double faults, and made 6 breaks. Her opponent did not manage to make any aces, made 2 service errors, and had no break points.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia – WTA 1000

Rome, Italy, clay

Prize money: $6,911,032

First round, May 7

Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) – Alexandra Eala (Philippines) 6-0, 6-1

The two had never met before. In the next round, Kostyuk will face Australian Daria Kasatkina (15), who recently changed her nationality.

Additionally, it was confirmed who Elina Svitolina will face in the second round of the tournament in Rome. Ukraine's top player will meet Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (72, Spain).