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The No.2 seed was playing in her first match since her Round of 16 defeat to Anastasia Potapova at the Madrid Open, but she was back to her best in her 6-4 6-1 win in Rome.

Rybakina set the tone for her victory by getting the better of Sakkari's serve in the opening game of the match as she quickly raced into a commanding 3-1 advantage.

But Sakkari battled back with a break of her own in the sixth game to level things up, only for Rybakina to return the favour before closing out the set with a love service game.

From there, Rybakina wasted little time in setting up a clash with Alexandra Eala in the third round, as she advanced with a huge forehand that was returned into the net.

Rybakina will be joined in the next round by Naomi Osaka, who overcame a stern test from Eva Lys to win 6-4 4-6 6-3 and tee up a meeting with Diana Shnaider next.

Madison Keys was also pushed the distance in order to reach the third round in Rome by compatriot Peyton Stearns, but she too prevailed in three sets with a 4-6 6-4 6-2 win.

It was, however, smooth sailing for No.5 seed Jessica Pegula, who needed just longer than an hour to defeat Turkiye's Zeynep Sonmez 6-4 6-0.