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The world No.1 needed one hour and 47 minutes to see off Putintseva, who gave Swiatek her toughest test yet in Rome, finding success with a series of drop shots to build a healthy lead in the second set.

However, Swiatek fended off four break points to avoid going 5-1 down then produced back-to-back breaks as the momentum shifted, with Putintseva having no answer for her power from there.

Swiatek, who is looking to build on last week's triumph at the Madrid Open, will now face either Angelique Kerber or Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the Round of 16.

While Swiatek was tested on Saturday, it was an examination she passed with flying colours as she made it 25 straight clay-court wins against opponents ranked outside the world's top 10.

She is the first player on the WTA Tour to achieve that feat since Serena Williams did so in 2016.