Rome (AFP) - Iga Swiatek gave another indication that she might be back to her brilliant best after destroying Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-2 at the Foro Italico on Wednesday and breezing into the Italian Open semi-finals.

A three-time champion in Rome, Swiatek took little more than an hour to take care of fifth seed Pegula on centre court, without facing a single break point.

It was a show of force on her preferred surface not seen since she last won the French Open two years ago, and gave Swiatek her first semi-final appearance of the season.

“I’ve been playing a bit differently, I would say. More similar to how I played couple years ago, more like a clay court player,” Swiatek told reporters.

“I guess all the things that we practiced really clicked during last few matches.”

Swiatek has set up a clash with either second seed Elena Rybakina or Elina Svitolina, also in action on centre court on Wednesday, in the last four.

A potential decider with reigning Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff awaits for the winner of that last-four match-up in Saturday’s final.

Pole Swiatek hasn’t won a clay-court tournament since claiming the most recent of her four Roland Garros titles, with personal problems a factor in her poor performances.

But since struggling through her second-round win against Caty McNally Swiatek has dropped just seven games in three matches.

Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, recently took on board Francisco Roig, the former coach of men’s clay-court icon Rafael Nadal after a difficult opening few months of the season.

The 24-year-old got to the quarter-finals in Stuttgart in early April and forced to retire from the Madrid Open in the third round due to a viral infection.

But the kind of form showed on Wednesday suggests she could be favourite for a fourth Foro Italico title and back in the mix for the French Open crown.

In the men’s tournament Casper Ruud’s bid to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final since winning in Madrid last year, was interrupted by rain in the Italian capital.

Organisers said that play would not restart before 1445 GMT, with the clay court specialist a game down in the second set against Karen Khachanov after winning the first 6-1.

The winner of that match will take on either Rafael Jodar, who was knocked out in the Madrid last eight by Jannik Sinner, or Italy’s Luciano Darderi.