Second seed Kim Clijsters reached the last 16 of the Italian Open with a 4-6 6-1 6-3 win over Japanese qualifier Akiko Morigami on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old Belgian, the highest-ranked player in the claycourt tournament after Amelie Mauresmo withdrew with a stomach bug, struggled to find her rhythm at the start.
Clijsters made a series of unforced errors to let slip a one-break advantage and gifted Morigami the first set.
However, she steadied herself to break the Japanese in the first game of the second set after which it was no contest.
Clijsters next faces 16th seed Dinara Safina, who did just enough to beat Maria Elena Camerin 6-4 6-4.
Last year's runner-up Patty Schnyder, seeded sixth, earned a 7-6 6-2 victory over Vera Dushevina to set up a clash with 1999 Rome champion Venus Williams.
Fifth seeded Russian Elena Dementieva went through after her opponent Shuai Peng of China pulled out of their match injured.
Apart from Clijsters, the only seed to struggle was 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, who needed treatment for a thigh strain during the second set against Italy's Roberta Vinci before coming through 6-0 1-6 6-4.
