Garbine Muguruza emerged as a favourite to win the Italian Open after beating Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round after world number one Angeliquer Kerber had earlier bowed out to Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit.
Muguruza used her experience to get out of trouble, eventually set up a meeting with Ukrainian 10th seed Elina Svitolina in just over two hours under a relentless sun at Indian Wells.
Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza claimed her maiden Grand Slam title when she beat World No 1 and defending champion Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 in the French Open final on Saturday.
Wimbledon will naturally miss an old favourite with Rafael Nadal sidelined by injury yet Garbine Muguruza, armed with her sunny demeanour and blistering talent, seems perfectly happy and equipped to fill the void left by her great Spanish compatriot.
She will now play Dutch 15th seed Kiki Bertens, who saw off Australian qualifier Daria Gavrilova 6-3, 6-3, in Saturday's semi-final on the red Foro Italico clay.
Images from Day 2 of the French Open in Paris on Monday.
The 23-year-old says the points and calculations are far from her mind and it is the big events such as Wimbledon and next month's US Open that fire her up.
Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza fine-tuned her preparations for this month's U.S. Open by crushing Simona Halep 6-1, 6-0 in the Cincinnati Open final on Sunday.
Serena Williams overcame a gritty challenge from unseeded Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens, winning 7-6(7), 6-4, to reach the French Open final, in Paris, on Friday. She will meet Garbine Muguruza, who reached her second Grand Slam final when she beat Australia's Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 in the first semi-final at Roland Garros.
Garbine Muguruza officially became the world number one as the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) updated the rankings on Monday.
Garbine Muguruza continued her dream debut at the WTA Finals by completing round robin play with a perfect 3-0 record to advance to the semi-finals after a hard fought 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Petra Kvitova on Friday.
In the first women's final played under the Centre Court roof, a high-quality first set gradually built towards a captivating conclusion after both players began with two comfortable service holds.
David Ferrer sent local favourite Bernard Tomic packing with an easy 6-3, 7-5 win in the opening round of the Brisbane International on Monday.
Serena Williams claimed a sixth Wimbledon title and fourth successive Grand Slam crown by suppressing the spirited attacking instincts of 20th-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza to win Saturday's final 6-4, 6-4.
World number three Karolina Pliskova overcame a stern test to reach the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday after edging French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 7-6(2), 7-6(5) at Indian Wells.
US Olympian skier Lindsay Vonn also walked the red carpet, but her choice of outfit was open to debate on social media.
World number one Rafael Nadal recorded his 20th straight win on clay as he began his quest for a sixth title in Madrid, defeating Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-1.
Serena Williams is now one match away from reinforcing her stranglehold on the women's game by holding all four grand slam titles at the same time, a feat she will achieve for the second occasion if she beats 20th-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in Saturday's final.
After feeling the full force of Garbine Muguruza's ferocious forehand and being made to scrap like a bloodied street fighter, Serena Williams has seen enough of the Spaniard to make a bold prediction -- soon she will be a Wimbledon champion too.
Agnieszka Radwanska rallied past an exhausted Garbine Muguruza to book her place in the WTA Finals title decider on Saturday with a 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 victory over the Spanish prospect in a classic encounter.
Spaniard Garbine Muguruza withdraw from the Italian Open semi-finals with a neck injury on Saturday, eight days before she is due to start the defence of her French Open title at Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal left German qualifier Yannick Maden no hope as he booked his ticket for the third round of the French Open in ruthless fashion with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
IMAGES from the matches played on Day 10 of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, on Wednesday
Spain's Garbine Muguruza beat Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 to win the French Open on Saturday and claim her first Grand Sam title. Take a look at the career of the 22-year-old.
Maria Sharapova's mix of grit and power were enough to see off American teenager Sofia Kenin 7-5, 6-2 in the third round of the US Open on Friday.
21-year-old Garbine Muguruza has already proved that she has the power and intelligence to reduce the all-conquering American to a nervous wreck when she subjected Serena Williams to a 6-2, 6-2 pummelling at last year's French Open.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Spain's Garbine Muguruza, one of the rising stars of women's tennis, beat Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky to win the China Open on Sunday, her biggest title to date.
Spain's Garbine Muguruza moved to the brink of the WTA Finals last four with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Angelique Kerber on Wednesday after Petra Kvitova opened her account with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over fellow Czech Lucie Safarova.
Images from Day 2 of the 2020 US Open in New York
Former world number one Venus Williams salvaged a small bit of family pride when she fought back from a set down to see off Italy's Roberto Vinci 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4)and reach the final of the Wuhan Open on Friday.
A summary of Friday play at the French Open.
Coco Vandeweghe blasted her way into her first grand slam semi-final with a dominant display of power tennis to destroy French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Images from matches played on Day 4 at the US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday.
Olympic champion and world number one Serena Williams tumbled out of the Rio de Janeiro singles competition in the third round on Tuesday after a shock defeat to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.
Maria Sharapova's contentious and captivating US Open run came to an end on Sunday when Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova beat her 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Flushing Meadows quarter-finals.
Grand Slam finalists Garbine Muguruza and Roberta Vinci stormed into the last four of the Wuhan Open in China on Thursday while Venus Williams ended the giant-killing run of Briton Johanna Konta.
PHOTOS from day seven of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis in London on Tuesday.
PHOTOS from day four of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Saturday
The 23-year-old Wimbledon champion, who climbed to the top of the WTA rankings on Monday, hardly broke sweat against the Frenchwoman, ranked 20th in the world, on her way to victory in an hour and 20 minutes.
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