THREE seeds miss out on the Italian Open fantasy semi-finals after falling short at the quarter finals, with all four victors managing straight sets wins. Just one match was close, while two were complete in under an hour, such was their victors’ dominance.

Third seed Simona Halep and qualifier Sloane Stephens continued their strong form, with both players proving far too strong for their respective seeded opposition. Stephens took on Garbine Muguruza, pulling out a stunning win against the sixth seed and taking out the 6-1 6-2 victory. Stephens battered down the hard-hitter from the get-go, controlling all the momentum and forcing errors from the usually clinical Spaniard. Halep defeated Aryna Sabalenka in a similarly controlled match with the Belarusian tenth seed seemingly rendered speechless by Halep’s intensity, just dropping the three games throughout, and coming away with a 6-2 6-1 win.

The surprise packet of the quarter finals in Croatian, Petra Martic impressed, heading through to the semi-final against Stephens. Martic took down second seed Elina Svitolina in a massive scalp, not letting the Ukrainian talent control the match and proving she is a real force to be reckoned with on her day. While Svitolina was a tough competitor as always, Martic used every ounce of her pressure to reign supreme for the 6-4 6-4 victory. World number one Ash Barty continued her solid run with a forceful win over qualifier Tamara Zidansek, and when challenged pulled out all the stops to control the contest. While Barty was threatening early, Zidansek came out firing in the second and collected the first three games of the second to provide a challenge. But Barty is not top dog for nothing, eventually winning back the lead from the Slovenian, 6-1 6-4.

While Martic has had a great run here, she will have a real task against Stephens who has been building in momentum across the past few tournaments and is well in with a chance of taking the Italian Open out. Meanwhile, Barty will take on Halep with a real battle on her hands. Though Barty has ultimately been more consistent in recent tournaments, Halep has been a real livewire here and continues to provide a massive threat.

QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Ash Barty (AUS) defeated [Q] Tamara Zidansek (SLO) 6-1 6-4
Petra Martic (CRO) defeated [2] Elina Svitolina (UKR) 6-4 6-4
[3] Simona Halep (ROU) defeated [10] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 6-2 6-1
[Q] Sloane Stephens (USA) defeated [6] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 6-1 6-2