There were no shocks or upsets on Thursday for the favourites in the top half of the women’s draw at the Mutua Madrid Open. Iga Swiatek (1) and Coco Gauff (3) stamped their authority on the Manolo Santana Stadium against Xiyu Wang and Arantxa Rus, respectively.

The Pole showed why she is the world No. 1 with a dominant performance over the Chinese Wang (6-1, 6-4). Last year’s finalist extended her record of 8 wins in 10 matches played in the Caja Mágica, after one hour and 16 minutes of tennis.

Swiatek, a three-time French Open champion, will face Sorana Cirstea on Saturday for a place in round four. The Romanian had to battle her way past young Filipino promise Alex Eala, a Rafa Nadal Academy pupil, in a two-hour and 17-minute epic (6-3, 6-7[6], 6-4).

For her part, Gauff also put pedal to metal, much to the disliking of Dutch player Rus (6-0, 6-0), in a 51-minute opener. The current US Open champion has now equalled her best result in the Spanish capital by reaching round three.

The American will be bidding to improve on that mark on Saturday when she faces Dayana Yastremska. The Ukrainian came back to beat Colombia’s Emiliana Arango (0-6, 7-5, 6-4) and will now face this year’s Australian Open semi-finalist.