Italian Open: Tsitsipas, Djokovic, Rune advance to quarterfinals
Rome, Italy: Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitspias defeated the local star Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Italian Open in Rome on Wednesday.
He defeated Musetti by 7-5, 7-5.
"It was a very full day, I will tell you that. Spent the entire day at the courts. It had to be done, the rain got in the way, so I am happy the day ends like this. I put a great effort out there today. Tonight actually, not today! It has been wonderful, delightful in fact, to be playing this way and I need to catch some Zs now, get ready. I think tomorrow's a day off, so [I have] got to recharge and focus on the next one," said Tsitsipas after the match.
Tsitsipas will be facing the current Cincinnati champion Borna Coric, who ended the dream run of Hungary's Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach his second straight ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
Notably, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a seventh title in Rome as he reached the quarterfinals of the ongoing Italian Open after a win over Cameron Norrie on Tuesday.
He won the match by 6-3, 6-4. With this win, Novak is still in the race to clinch his record-extending 39th ATP Masters 1000 crown.
The Serbian dismantled his Briton opposition with his aggressive hitting and amazing movement on the clay court. He reached the QFs in Rome for the 17th straight year.
"So far so good," Djokovic said about his tournament so far as quoted by ATP.
"It was an early start today. Strange conditions and we warmed up for just 20 minutes. I was rushing a little bit and we could not play before because of the rain, so I am glad to overcome the challenge in straight sets and move on," added Djokovic.
Djokovic is attempting to win his seventh title in Rome, having previously won the event in 2008, 2011, 2014-15, 2020, and 2022. After his 89-minute victory, the 35-year-old will face Dane Holger Rune.
Rune on the other hand, stormed into the quarterfinals after defeating Australia's Alexei Popyrin. This is his third ATP Masters 1000 QF.
The 20-year-old won the match by 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 after three hours,.striking 34 winners and committing just three unforced errors.
Rune, who is making his debut in Rome, is already 11-2 on clay this season. Last month, the World No. 7 reached the final in Monte-Carlo before claiming his fourth tour-level victory in Munich.
Also, Russia's Danil Medvedev stormed into the final eight as well, defeating Alexander Zverev by 6-2, 7-6(3).
With this win, Medvedev improved his record against Zverev to 9 wins-6 losses.
"He started to play a little bit better for sure," said Medvedev, when asked about difficulties he faced in the second set. "We had some long games, and I should have played better on this game at 4-3... I should have done better from 40/0. I made a few easy errors, but that's tennis and I knew that I had to continue. It was not an easy moment, [later I had a] set point to save. I am happy with my level throughout the whole match, except this game and I'm really looking forward to the next match," said Medvedev.
Despite Zverev recovered a break to force a second-set tie-break, Medvedev produced a high-quality tie-break to seal a one-hour, 56-minute triumph, his third against the German this season. In Rome, the 27-year-old will face qualifier Yannick Hanfmann, who previously defeated Monte-Carlo winner Andrey Rublev 6-2, 7-6(3) in his round of 16 match.
Despite Zverev reclaiming a break to force a second-set tie-break, Medvedev produced a high-class tie-break to seal a one-hour, 56-minute victory, his third of the season against the German. The 27-year-old's quarter-final opponent in Rome will be qualifier Yannick Hanfmann, who earlier upset Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev 6-2, 7-6(3).
Casper Rudd advanced to the final eight after cruising past Serbia's Laslo Djere by 6-1, 6-3.
Ruud has reached the Rome semi-finals twice and will look to do it again when he faces 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo. Francisco won his third straight match from a set down, defeating home favourite Jannik Sinner 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2.
