No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany cruised into the fourth round of the Italian Open at Rome with a convincing 6-4, 6-0 victory over qualifier Vilius Gaubas of Lithuania.
Zverev, the defending champion, needed just 86 minutes to advance in his ninth consecutive singles match win in the event. He won the last nine games of the match and finished off the victory on his third match point.
“In the beginning I felt like it was a bit difficult for me and it was really windy,” Zverev said. “The wind really calmed down after the first set and then it was easier for me to get in a rhythm and have clean strokes. I am someone who wants to play with power and doesn’t have variety as much, so for me when I am hitting the ball cleanly it is a benefit to me and my game.”
Zverev advances to face No. 13 seed Arthur Fils of France, who was a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 winner over No. 18 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
Fils won 70 percent of his second-serve points and converted all three of his break-point chances, including one to open the decisive third set and another to take a 4-1 lead later in the third set.
“(Tsitsipas) was killing me with his forehand, his backhand, at the net. Serving very good,” Fils said. “I could not do a lot of things but in the second set I started to find the rhythm and a way to fight and was happy to finish strong in the third.”
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 3 seed, methodically took care of Laslo Djere of Serbia, winning 7-6 (2), 6-2 in 1 hour, 43 minutes. His victory sets up a matchup with No. 23 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, who also advanced Sunday with an easy 6-3, 6-0 victory over Francesco Passaro of Italy.
Alcaraz was coming back from an adductor injury and battling a cold, but didn’t want to make excuses for a sluggish start.
“Once you are on the court you try not to think about those things and just keep going,” he said. “Sometimes it is difficult, but it’s great having matches in straight sets to save energy for the next matches.”
No. 10 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia was a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Alexei Popyrin of Australia. Medvedev, the 2023 Italian Open champion, saved six of seven break points as he attempts to win a tournament since coming out on top in Rome two years ago.
Medvedev will next face No. 8 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, who was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over No. 28 seed Brandon Nakashima. Musetti, the bronze medal winner on clay at the Paris Olympics, converted three of four break points.
No. 8 seed Jack Draper of Great Britain also was an easy winner in the third round, eliminating Vit Kopriva of Czechia with a 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Corenti Moutet of France was an upset winner over No. 9 seed Holger Rune of Denmark. Moutet had three match points before losing his serve to even the match 5-5 in the third set. Down 3-1 in the deciding tiebreaker, he took six of the next seven points to win the match.
–Field Level Media
