Daria Gavrilova has advanced to the second round of the Italian Open with hard-fought win over Natalia Vikhlyantseva.
The world No.24 fought back from a set down to win 5-7 6-4 6-3 despite sending down 10 double faults against the 21-year-old from Russia who is ranked 85th in the world.
Gavrilova faces a tough match next up in the form of reigning Wimbledon and 2016 French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.
However, it was a disappointing day for Samantha Stosur who lost to Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck 6-7 (8-6) 6-3 6-2.
Australian No.1 Ashleigh Barty faces five-time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova on Tuesday.
Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic takes on Russian world No.13 Daria Kasatkina.
Japan’s Naomi Osaka eased into the second round with a 6-0 6-3 victory over former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka, on a day in which local favourite Roberta Vinci called time on her career.
Osaka, whose current form could see her mount a strong challenge at the French Open next month, stormed out of the gates, riding her powerful forehand as she pummelled her Belarusian opponent into submission in an hour and 13 minutes.
Next up for Osaka is a second-round clash with world No.1 Simona Halep.
Roberta Vinci was beaten 2-6 6-0 6-3 by Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic in an emotionally charged encounter in front of a packed crowd on Court Pietrangeli.
The 35-year-old had announced her intention to retire from tennis after the tournament, and her exit brings down the curtain on her 20-year career in the sport.
“I tried to say, ‘OK, this is probably the last day, so try to enjoy, and try to smile,” she said after the match.
“I was happy about the crowd, and my parents, my team and all my friends were there. I lost, I know, but I was happy – and this is what I wanted.”
American CoCo Vandeweghe, the 12th seed, suffered a shock 6-1 6-1 opening round defeat by Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit, but Vandeweghe’s compatriot, Madison Keys eased past Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-1.
Britain’s Johanna Konta battled back from a break down in either set to see off the challenge of Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4 6-3 and improve her head-to-head record against the Slovak to four victories without a single defeat.
