French Open champion Iga Swiatek has served a warning to her rivals ahead of the clay-court grand slam with a 6-0 6-0 demolition of former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova to power to the Italian Open title.
Sunday's 46-minute demolition job - by the famed 'double bagel' scoreline - ensured Poland's world No.15, who shot to fame at Roland Garros last year by lifting the title as a teenager, will enter the top-10 for the first time when the new rankings are out on Monday.
Swiatek's third title overall, following her triumphs in Paris and Adelaide, came on the back of the most dominant performance of the 19-year-old's flourishing career as she dropped only 13 points against the experienced Czech, who was the 2019 Rome champion.
"I'm really happy to win this tournament in Rome, it's been a tough week from the beginning," said Swiatek, who won both her quarter-final and semi-final matches in straight sets on Saturday.
"I'm really happy I got through everything and I was really focused today, so I'm proud of myself. Now I've finally earned some tiramisu!"
She served with ruthless accuracy, winning more than 93% of points on her first serve, and converted six out of eight break point opportunities to close out the win against a frustrated Pliskova, who had no answers on the day.
It was also the first-ever double bagel in the final of the Rome tournament and the most one-sided since Hungary's Andrea Temesvari beat American Bonnie Gadusek 6-1 6-0 in 1983.
The French Open begins on May 30, with Swiatek among the favourites along with the 2019 Roland Garros champion, Australian world No.1 Ash Barty, who beat the Pole in Madrid but who had to retire during her quarter-final in Rome with an arm injury.
Australian Associated Press
