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Italian Open: Iga Swiatek beats Victoria Azarenka for 25th consecutive win

World number one Iga Swiatek became only the ninth player since 2000 to win 25 matches in a row after beating Victoria Azarenka at the Italian Open.

Poland's Swiatek overcame a slow start to win 6-4 6-1 against the Belarusian in the second round in Rome.

A brutal first set lasted one hour 20 minutes and saw seven breaks of serve.

Swiatek lost serve again in the opening game of the second set, but fought back to take command and set up a quarter-final with Canada's Bianca Andreescu.

The 20-year-old Pole has dominated the WTA Tour in the past few months, fully grasping her chance to replace Ashleigh Barty at the top of the rankings when the 25-year-old Australian announced her shock retirement in March.