Tommy Paul stunned defending champion Daniil Medvedev at the Italian Open on Tuesday.

Paul needed just one hour and 13 minutes to down Medvedev 6-1 6-4 to secure his first victory over a top-20 opponent and reach the quarter-finals.

Medvedev could not get going from the start, and was broken in all three of his service games in the opening set as Paul cruised into the lead.

And even after a brief resurgence at the start of the second set, Medvedev could not prevent his opponent from reeling off four successive games to pave the way for a memorable win.

Paul, who is into his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final on clay, will face Hubert Hurkacz for a place in the last four.

Data Debrief: Zverev brings up 10th Masters QF

While Medvedev crashed out, Alexander Zverev had no such trouble, as he claimed a straight sets win over Nuno Borges.

Zverev has now equalled Michael Chang in 10th place for the most quarter-finals made (28) in ATP Masters 1000 events since the format's introduction in 1990.

Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem will have to fight for his place at the French Open after missing out on Tuesday's wild-card invitations.

Thiem will retire later this year due to a persistent wrist injury that has derailed his career but will likely need to battle through the qualifying rounds to appear at Roland Garros for a final time.

The two-time French Open semi-finalist is currently six places away from a main-draw spot for the upcoming major, with Richard Gasquet among the eight male players to secure a wild-card invitation.

Frenchman Gasquet will equal Feliciano Lopez's 21 tournaments at Roland Garros, the joint-most appearances of any player in the Open Era.

In the women's tournament, world number 99 Alize Cornet was also invited on a wild-card pick and will appear in a women's singles grand slam main draw for the 72nd time in her career.

That is the third most in the Open Era for major appearances, behind only Venus Williams (93) and Serena Williams (81).

Iga Swiatek soared through to the Italian Open semi-finals following a dominant straight-sets victory over Madison Keys.

The world number one took just 76 minutes to wrap up a commanding 6-1 6-3 win - matching the scoreline which saw her overcome the American in the Madrid Open last four a fortnight ago.

Swiatek broke her opponent four times and saved all 10 break points she faced on the way to setting up a semi-final showdown with either Coco Gauff or Qinwen Zheng.

Yet to drop a set this week, the Pole remains on course to complete a hat-trick of titles in Rome and land her fourth silverware of 2024, in which she now boasts a 36-4 record.

Data debrief

Reaching her 16th WTA 1000 semi-final from 30 main draws entered, Swiatek (53.3 per cent) surpasses Serena Williams (53.1 per cent, 26 from 49) for the highest rate of last-four appearances in such tournaments since the format's introduction in 2009.

The Pole also took her tally of WTA match wins on clay to 75 from 85, with only Monica Seles, Nancy Richey (both 80), Chris Evert (81) and Margaret Court (82) reaching that figure on surface in fewer matches during the Open Era.

Daniil Medvedev had to dig deep to overcome Hamad Medjedovic at the Italian Open on Monday and stay in with a chance of retaining his title.

Medvedev came out on top with a 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 7-5 victory, but was made to work hard to avoid a third-round upset.

After enduring an up-and-down opening two sets in which he hit 10 double faults, Medvedev rallied into a lead before holding off Medjedovic’s fight-back.

The second seed remained composed to break in the match’s final game to advance after two hours and 50 minutes.

Medvedev will now play Tommy Paul in the next round on Tuesday, with the American seeing off Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-3.

Data Debrief: Reigning champion fights on

Medvedev has reached the last 16 at all 5 Masters 1000 events this season, with only Alexander Zverev able to match that distinction.

It was not an easy ride for him though, as Medjedovic wanted to prove a point against his first Top 10 opponent in what was his first Masters 1000 third round.

Two-time Italian Open champion Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarter-finals of this year's tournament with an impressive 7-5 6-3 win over Angelique Kerber on Monday.

Three-time grand slam winner Kerber provided Swiatek with a real step up after routine victories over Bernarda Pera and Yulia Putintseva in the first two rounds on the clay in Rome.

Kerber responded to Swiatek's first break – which came in the eighth game – with one of her own, but the world number one then recaptured her composure to force a series of break points in Kerber's next two service games, finally converting at the eighth attempt to take the opener. 

Kerber refused to go away, breaking straight back in the first game of the second set, but Swiatek upped her game to take the contest away from the 36-year-old.

Swiatek dropped just three further points on her own serve from there, adding three breaks of her own to set up a last-eight meeting with Madison Keys for Tuesday. 

Data Debrief: Swiatek unmatched on clay

While Kerber rolled back the years to trouble Swiatek early on, she lacked the staying power to live with the world number one in longer rallies on a surface where she is truly unmatched. 

Her win ratio at clay-court events at WTA 1000-level now stands at 88.2 per cent (30 wins, four defeats), the best of any player to have played a minimum of five matches since the format's 2009 introduction, ahead of Serena Williams at 88 per cent. 

Naomi Osaka's promising Italian Open run was halted by Zheng Qinwen on Monday, as the seventh seed denied the four-time grand slam champion a quarter-final place.

Following Saturday's triumph over Daria Kasatkina – her second successive straight-sets win over a top-20 opponent in Rome – Osaka laughed off the "Clayomi" moniker given to her by some fans.

On Monday, her old troubles on the surface came back to the fore as Zheng dominated from the off to make the tournament's last eight for a second straight year, winning 6-2 6-4.

Osaka saw her serve broken in the very first game only to hit straight back, but Zheng assumed control by taking seven straight games to go from 2-1 down in the opener to 2-0 up in the second set.

The 21-year-old produced a clinical performance and converted all four of her break points, winning 78 per cent of first-serve points to Osaka's 68 per cent as she teed up a quarter-final clash with either Coco Gauff or Paula Badosa.

Data Debrief: 'Clayomi' no more as Zheng triumphs

Osaka impressed on a surface long regarded as her worst in Italy, but it was a bridge too far for her on Monday, Zheng reaching her fourth WTA 1000 quarter-final.

Since the format's introduction in 2009, she is just the second Asian player to reach multiple quarter-finals on both hardcourts and clay at that level before the age of 23, the other being Osaka.

Novak Djokovic lamented his dismal showing as Alejandro Tabilo profited from the world number one's "completely off" performance to triumph at the Italian Open.

Tabilo stunned Djokovic with a straight-sets victory in the third round on Sunday, winning 6-2, 6-3 in his maiden ATP Tour clash with the Serbian.

The Chilean advances to the fourth round at a Masters 1000 event for just the second time after Indian Wells in 2023, with Djokovic unable to explain his struggles in Rome.

"I just wasn't able to find any kind of good feelings on the court, to be honest, striking the ball. I was completely off," he said.

A six-time champion in Rome, the 36-year-old won his opening-round match at the ATP Masters 1000 event against Corentin Moutet.

However, Djokovic was inadvertently hit on the head by a falling water bottle when leaving the court after that victory.

Whether that incident impacted his performance against Tabilo remains to be seen.

"I don't know, to be honest. I have to check that," he said. "Training was different. I was going for [a] kind of easy training yesterday.

"I didn't feel anything, but I also didn't feel the same. Today under high stress, it was quite bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance.

"Just no coordination. Completely different player from what it was two nights ago. Could be. I don't know. I have to do medical checkups and see what's going on."

Tabilo's next opponent will be Karen Khachanov, who saw off Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, while Djokovic is made to wait for his 1100th match win.

Novak Djokovic is out of the Italian Open after a straight-sets defeat by Alejandro Tabilo in the third round on Sunday.

Tabilo recorded the biggest win of his career with a dominant performance, winning 6-2, 6-3 in his maiden ATP Tour clash with the Serbian.

Djokovic, who was hit on the head by a water bottle following his second-round win over Corentin Moutet, struggled to get going as he saw his serve broken four times.

Tabilo clinched the opening set in style, making few errors, and Djokovic failed to mount a comeback in the second, with double faults costing him at key moments, including one on the final break serve.

The Chilean advances to the fourth round at a Masters 1000 event for just the second time after Indian Wells in 2023. His next opponent will be Karen Khachanov, who saw off Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4. 

Data Debrief: Big winner

Tabilo is the second player from Chile to defeat the World No.1 in ATP-1000 events after Fernando Gonzalez, who defeated Lleyton Hewitt at the Hamburg Masters in 2003, since the introduction of the format in 1990.

He is also the first Chilean to defeat a World No. 1 since Fernando Gonzalez beat Roger Federer at the 2007 Nitto ATP Finals Round Robin.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is made to wait for his 1100th match win.

Aryna Sabalenka dominated Dayana Yastremska to reach the fourth round of the Italian Open on Sunday.

Sabalenka, who claimed Australian Open glory for the second time earlier this year without dropping a set, eased to a 6-4 6-2 victory over Yastremska.

Yastremska headed into the third-round contest having beaten Sabalenka in all three of their previous meetings, but the world number two found a crucial break of serve in the seventh game of the opening set before going on to hold twice more to take the ascendancy.

Yastremska's resolve was broken further in an epic third game of the second set, surviving six break points before Sabalenka finally got over the line to tighten her grip on the match.

Sabalenka didn't look back from there, breaking Yastremska again before going on to seal her place in the fourth round.

Sabalenka will take on either Sara Errani or Anna Kalinskaya in the fourth round as she looks to win the Italian Open for the first time ahead of the French Open later this month, where she will bid to improve on her semi-final appearance last year.

Data debrief

Since 2018, when Sabalenka achieved her first WTA 1000 win, she is now the player with the joint-most wins in such events (90, equalling Iga Swiatek).

Sabalenka may have lost her three previous games against Yastremska, but the last meeting between the pair was in 2020, and the two-time grand slam champion showed how much her game has progressed since then as she won all nine of her service games while breaking her Ukrainian opponent three times on her way to victory.

Rafael Nadal will do everything he can to play at the French Open this month, but he admits he has a decision to make on his involvement after crashing out of the Italian Open on Saturday.  

Nadal – a 10-time champion in Rome – suffered a resounding 6-1 6-3 defeat against Hubert Hurkacz on the clay, the Pole producing a polished performance to halt his run in the second round.  

The Spaniard has said he will likely call time on his glittering career at the end of the season, having been troubled by hip and abdominal injuries in recent years.

The 37-year-old was also beaten by Jiri Lehecka in the last 16 at the Madrid Open last month, and he acknowledges he is currently some way short of the level required to challenge for a record-extending 15th French Open title.

Speaking after Saturday's defeat, Nadal said: "The time has come to make a decision, in case I might not play Roland-Garros. 

"One is to say, 'okay, I am not ready, I am not playing well enough'.

"Another is to accept how I am today and work the proper way to try to be in a different way in two weeks. If I have to say which side I lean towards, it's to try to play it and give my best.

"Physically I have some issues, but probably not enough to say no to playing in the most important event of my tennis career."

The year's second grand slam begins at Roland Garros on May 20, with the men's singles final taking place on June 9. 

Daniil Medvedev and Noami Osaka both advanced at the Italian Open with straight-sets wins on Saturday, the former eliminating Britain's Jack Draper with a 7-5 6-4 success.

Second seed Medvedev – who won the Rome event last year – was tested by Draper, the world number four saving seven of 10 break points faced in a one-hour, 47-minute contest.

Draper was in the ascendency when he broke Medvedev's serve to make it 5-5 in the first set, but Medvedev hit straight back before serving out the opener.

The Russian stepped things up from there and raced into a 5-1 lead in the second set, one Draper was unable to overturn as Medvedev teed up a last-32 clash with Hamad Medjedovic for Sunday.

In the women's draw, four-time grand slam champion Osaka overcame 10th seed Daria Kasatkina in another impressive straight-sets triumph, two days after recording her first clay-court win over a top-20 opponent in Marta Kostyuk.

She eased to a 6-3 6-3 victory in Saturday's last-32 encounter and will now face China's Qinwen Zheng for a place in the quarter-finals on Monday.

Data Debrief: Osaka's new love for clay

Coming into this year's Italian Open, Osaka was 0-8 throughout her career against top-20 opponents on clay, but she has now recorded two such wins in a row for the very first time.

Rafael Nadal is out of the Italian Open after he was defeated in straight sets by Hubert Hurkacz in Rome on Saturday.

Nadal is a 10-time Italian Open champion, but his chances of an 11th and likely final title in Rome were ended in ruthless fashion by Hurkacz, who dominated on his way to a comfortable 6-1 6-3 triumph.

While Nadal held in his first service game of the second-round match, Hurkacz quickly took over and broke his 37-year-old opponent twice as he controlled the opening set.

Nadal showed some resolve in the second set, but a break of his serve in the third game left him with an uphill battle.

World number nine Hurkacz was in charge, and it was a position of control he would not relinquish as he broke Nadal once more to clinch victory.

Hurkacz will now take on Tomas Martin Etcheverry as he bids to reach the fourth round for the maiden time in Rome. For Nadal, who has indicated he will retire after the 2024 season, this will not have been how he wished to bow out in Rome as he prepares for the start of the French Open later this month.

Data debrief

Hurkacz became just the third player to concede fewer than five games en route to victory over Nadal on clay at ATP level, along with Olivier Rochus (Mallorca round of 16 2002) and Gaston Gaudio (Hamburg round of 16 2003).

Hurkacz dominated his contest with Nadal, winning all eight of his service games and breaking the 22-time grand slam champion on four occasions as he eased into the fourth round.

Iga Swiatek progressed to the fourth round of the Italian Open by overcoming Yulia Putintseva on Saturday, fighting back from 4-1 down in the second set for a 6-3 6-4 win.

The world number one needed one hour and 47 minutes to see off Putintseva, who gave Swiatek her toughest test yet in Rome, finding success with a series of drop shots to build a healthy lead in the second set.

However, Swiatek fended off four break points to avoid going 5-1 down then produced back-to-back breaks as the momentum shifted, with Putintseva having no answer for her power from there.

Swiatek – who is looking to build on last week's triumph at the Madrid Open – will now face either Angelique Kerber or Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the last 16 on Monday.

Data Debrief: No stopping Swiatek

While Swiatek was tested on Saturday, it was an examination she passed with flying colours as she made it 25 straight clay-court wins against opponents ranked outside the world's top 10.

She is the first player on the WTA Tour to achieve that feat since Serena Williams did so in 2016.

Novak Djokovic says he is "fine" after being hit on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs following his win at the Italian Open.

A video on social media showed Djokovic being hit by the object from the stands before falling to the floor.

The Serbian was helped out of the arena by security so he could receive medical treatment.

Djokovic later posted a message on X to assuage any fears, and thank fans for their support after the incident.

He said: "Thank you for the messages of concern. This was an accident and I am fine resting at the hotel with an ice pack. See you all on Sunday."

A statement from the Italian Open said: "Novak Djokovic has been accidentally hit by a bottle while signing autographs.

"This is not being treated as a deliberate act, but as an accident. A boy was calling out to get an autograph and the bottle fell out of his bag. Novak has been taken to the medical centre."

They later issued an update, which read: "Novak has undergone the necessary checks and has already left to return to his hotel. His condition is not a cause for concern."

The incident happened after Djokovic’s 6-3 6-1 win over Corentin Moutet when he approached supporters in the stands.

The world number one is due to play Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the next round on Sunday. 

Novak Djokovic made a winning return to the ATP Tour as he overcame a tough opener in Rome with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Corentin Moutet on Friday.

The Serbian, who has not played since the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo, made a slow start, falling 1-3 behind in the first set, but recovered to take the first match.

Moutet could not regain his level, and Djokovic dropped only one set as he cruised through the second match to advance after one hour and 26 minutes.

Djokovic, a six-time champion in Rome, will take on Alejandro Tabilo in the third round after the Chilean beat Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

Data Debrief: Still on top

Djokovic now has 23 wins in ATP-1000 events since turning 35. He eclipses John Isner (22) for the outright second most wins in such tournaments since the introduction of the format in 1990; only Federer, with 51, has more.

The Serbian will have the opportunity to clinch his 1100th match win in the third round as he chases his first trophy of the season. 

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