Daniil Medvedev continued his Rome title defence with Monday's hard-fought 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 7-5 win over qualifier Hamad Medjedovic as the men's tournament was left wide open by big-name exits, the latest being fourth seed Andrey Rublev.
Russian Medvedev will face Tommy Paul in the last 16 at the Foro Italico on Tuesday after battling past Next Gen champion Medjedovic in a gruelling clash of big hitters.
The second seed has a great opportunity to win his first tournament of the year but will be drained by a match which pushed three hours in length and suggested that 20-year-old Medjedovic is a far superior player than his world ranking of 121.
MEDVEDEV THE FIGHTER 🤯
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 13, 2024
The defending Rome champion reaches the Round of 16 at all 5 Masters 1000 events this season! @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/OchgGjBw69
Rome is missing the world's top three men following Novak Djokovic's third-round elimination on Saturday, with Italian world No 2 Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz both withdrawing ahead of the event.
And Russian Rublev, fresh from claiming the Madrid title, suffered a shock third-round defeat by French qualifier Alexandre Muller, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
🚨 MULLER 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐒 RUBLEV 🚨
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 13, 2024
World No. 109 @Alex2Mumu defeats the Madrid champion from a set down for his FIRST Top 10 win!@InteBNLdItalia | #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/OHf1gzKWUE
Sixth seed and reigning Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is still in the fray after beating Briton Cameron Norrie in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) but is disappointed at the number of big names out of the tournament.
"The extension of the days in the Masters 1000s I think plays a massive role and contributes a lot to the fact that these players are getting injured," Tsitsipas told reporters.
"You've got to be some type of superhero to be consistent back to back 10 days in each event getting to the very end of it."
All hits, no misses 🎤@steftsitsipas is at his absoulte best as he takes the opening set 6-2 over Norrie! @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI24 pic.twitter.com/Uuj3iwRQkM
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 13, 2024
Another contender is Rafael Nadal's vanquisher and seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz, who faces Sebastian Baez on Tuesday and could be Medvedev's quarterfinal opponent.