Carlos Alcaraz joined reigning Italian Open champion Alexander Zverev in the last 16 in Rome after seeing off Laslo Djere 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 on centre court on Sunday.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz reached the fourth round at the Foro Italico for the first time after a battle with spirited Djere.
In the next round, Alcaraz will face Karen Khachanov who knocked out Italian wild card entrant Francesco Passaro 6-3, 6-0.
Alcaraz was playing in his second match since suffering a thigh injury in his Barcelona Open final defeat by Holger Rune last month.
And the Spaniard was not at his best against Djere whose three career tournament wins have all come on clay, his most recent title in March, at the Chile Open in Santiago.
The 22-year-old was broken twice in the first set which looked like going either way until he took control in the eventual tie-break, before sweeping Djere aside in the second.
“I just thought that I had to stay there mentally strong, waiting for my chances because I was playing great,” said Alcaraz.
“I was playing great, moving, hitting the ball. It was just a few mistakes that I made.”
Zverev meanwhile, barely broke a sweat against Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas, easing to a 6-4, 6-0 win to set up a last-16 clash with France’s Arthur Fils.
The world number two took one hour and 26 minutes to see off Gaubas, suggesting that the burn-out he said he was suffering earlier in the year might be behind him.
Zverev is hoping a good defence of his Rome crown will set him up to go one better than last year at the French Open and be crowned champion.
But he will face a much tougher test against Fils, who beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, than the one put up by Gaubas.
It was a good day for French players in the men’s tournament with Fils’ win and world number 83 Corentin Moutet shocking Holger Rune 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) to claim his first ever win over a top-10 player and line up fifth seed Jack Draper in the next round.
Daniil Medvedev will face home hope Lorenzo Musetti after making no mistake against Alexei Popyrin, winning 6-4, 6-1.
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Sabalenka through
Aryna Sabalenka came through a tough match with former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin to set up a clash with Marta Kostyuk, who beat Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-2.
World number one Sabalenka has reached the final of her last four tournaments, winning in both Miami and Madrid, and is now hot favourite at the Foro Italico even after Sunday’s below-par display.
Last year’s losing finalist was not at the races in the first set, consistently misplacing her backhands before appearing to complain about the surface on centre court.
“I was completely off, and I’m really glad I was able to cool myself down and… start focusing on the game and the right things,” Sabalenka told reporters.
Belarusian Sabalenka has a great opportunity to claim her third 1000 series crown of the season, after three-time winner Iga Swiatek was dumped out by Danielle Collins on Saturday.
“She’s facing really tough challenges I believe, on and off the court,” added Sabalenka of Swiatek.
“Maybe needs some time off and then she’s going to get back on top of her game because the level is there. She’s a champion.”
One of Sabalenka’s key rivals for the women’s title, Coco Gauff, cruised past Magda Linette in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 and will be expected to see off Emma Raducanu in the next round.
