Kudermetova is yet to drop a set so far and has picked up wins against Lucrezia Stefanini and 15th seed Amanda Anisimova. The 28-year-old Russian, is a former top 10 player and she has pedigree on clay after reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2022. She also made a run to the last four in Rome in 2023.

Emma Raducanu battles past Maya Joint to reach Italian Open second round - Raducanu will now meet world number 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Emma Raducanu survived a gruelling test to earn her first career win at the Italian Open on Wednesday night. The Brit was twice broken when trying to serve out the match against Aussie qualifier Maya Joint and finally got the job done shortly before 11pm local time, winning 7-5 6-7 (1) 6-3.