ROME — Carlos Alcaraz joined reigning Italian Open champion Alexander Zverev in the last 16 in Rome after seeing off Laslo Djere 7-6(2), 6-2 on center court on Sunday.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz reached the fourth round at the Foro Italico for the first time after a spirited battle with the Serb.

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 to 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 mentally strong, waiting for my chances, because I was playing great," said Alcaraz.

"I was 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 No 2 took one hour and 26 minutes to see off Gaubas, suggesting that the burnout he said he was suffering earlier in the year might be behind him.

Zverev is hoping a good defense of his Rome title will set him up to go one better than last year at the French Open and be crowned champion at Roland Garros.

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 winning, and world No 83 Corentin Moutet shocking Rune 7-5, 5-7,7-6 (4) to claim his first ever win over a top-10 player and line up a meeting with fifth seed Jack Draper in the next round.

Daniil Medvedev will face home hope Lorenzo Musetti after making no mistakes against Alexei Popyrin, winning 6-4, 6-1.

Sabalenka through

Aryna Sabalenka came through a tough match against former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin to set up a clash with Marta Kostyuk, who beat Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-2.

World No 1 Sabalenka has reached the final at her last four tournaments, winning in both Miami and Madrid, and is now hot favorite 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 center 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.

The Belarusian 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 she 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.

AFP