Three-time Italian Open champion Iga Swiatek produced one of her sharpest performances of the season to beat American fifth seed Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-2 and book her place in the semi-finals in Rome on Wednesday.

The Polish fourth seed needed just 67 minutes to defeat Pegula in a one-sided quarter-final, confirming her growing form on clay ahead of the French Open later this month.

Swiatek came into the contest full of confidence after an emphatic win over Naomi Osaka in the previous round and she wasted no time in imposing herself on Pegula. The 24-year-old raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening set before the American finally managed to get on the board and avoid the bagel.

After that Pegula got some relief. Swiatek continued to dictate rallies with her trademark depth and movement, allowing her opponent only three games throughout the match. Pol produced a brilliant all-round performance to finish with 15 winners compared to Pegula’s six.

“I feel much better,” Swiatek said after the win. “I have a lot of confidence in my shots. I used it from the beginning of the match today and kept the pressure on JC, so I’m really happy with the way I played.”

The win marked Swiatek’s first win over a top-10 opponent this season and continued an encouraging turnaround after a difficult start to the year. The former world number one began working with Rafael Nadal’s former coach Francisco Roig last month as she looked to rediscover her best form on clay.

A deep run in Rome would give Swiatek a timely boost before the start of the French Open on May 24. She faced a disappointing performance at the Madrid Open earlier this month, where she had to retire in the round-of-32 due to illness.

The road to the title in Rome has become even more favorable after world number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered an unexpected third round defeat against Romania’s Sorana Cristea.

Swiatek will face defending Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina or Ukrainian seventh seed Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals.

In the other last four matches, Cirstea will face two-time Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff.

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