Andrey Rublev avenged a recent straight sets loss to Dan Evans in convincing fashion on Friday, advancing through to the fourth round with a 6-4 6-2 6-3 victory.
Rublev's serve was the dominant force in the match, not conceding a single break as he saved all four of Evans' break point opportunities.
He finished with 10 aces to Evans' three, and created 15 break point opportunities of his own, securing four.
When speaking to the media after his win, Rublev said his recent defeat against Evans in July's Montreal Open was still fresh in his mind and he was thrilled to turn the tables this time.
"I'm happy with my game today, especially because last time I lost to him in straight sets," he said. "So I took the revenge.
"I'm really happy – I mean, the first set wasn't amazing, but was not that bad. I was just serving well, I was not doing something special.
"As soon as I was able to win the first set, I started to feel a relief, I started to feel more confident, I started to feel I can go for extra speed to raise a level.
"As soon as I did it, I started to feel even more confident, because I started to feel that this game, he cannot control. He was not able to do something – he started to stress more, and I started to feel it."
Rublev has never been past the quarter-finals of a grand slam, and when asked what has been holding him back, he said it was obvious.
"It's easy, and I think it's obvious – it's the mental part," he said. "That's it. Because game-wise, I think I have a good game to fight against top players, to play and compete."
The world number six will play world number 10 Holger Rune in the fourth round, with a place in the last eight on the line.
Rublev feels he is just as dangerous as his 19-year-old opponent because they both have "nothing to lose".
"He's a young guy, super talented," Rublev said. "He has nothing to lose for the moment, because he was going from underdog position all the time.
"But this year, we'll see. It's going to be challenging for him, and I have nothing to lose against him next time, because he was the one who won our first match, so he will feel a bit of pressure."
Raducanu withdraws from French Open qualifying
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from French Open qualifying, which starts on Monday.
Having endured an injury-hit few years since her 2021 US Open triumph, Raducanu was able to enter the year's second grand slam with a protected ranking of 103rd.
However, that was not enough to put her on the automatic entry list and she was not awarded a wildcard, making her third alternate for the women's draw.
No reason has been given for Raducanu's withdrawal from next week's qualifying tournament, and she can now only feature at Roland-Garros if three players drop out.
Raducanu was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Argentine qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle in the first round of the Madrid Open last month, subsequently saying she was "mentally and emotionally exhausted".
A host of withdrawals meant she did not have to go through qualifying for the Australian Open earlier this year, though she was beaten by China's Wang Yafan in the second round.
Raducanu has not made it past the second round in six major appearances since her triumph at Flushing Meadows, and she missed the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open last year after undergoing wrist and ankle surgeries.
Swiatek seals Italian Open hat-trick after soaring past Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek stormed to her third Italian Open title following a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.
The world number one took just under an hour-and-a-half to deny the world number two, and complete a hat-trick of triumphs in Rome.
The pair were contesting a second final in as many events, with Swiatek saving three championship points before eventually prevailing in the Madrid Open showpiece a fortnight ago.
However, it was one-way traffic this time around. The Pole converted two out of three break points as she controlled the opening set.
Sabalenka was the last player to deny Swiatek in a WTA final, that coming at last year's Madrid Open.
Although, the second seed was helpless as her opponent broke again in game seven of the second set, before wrapping up a fourth title of the season ahead of the French Open later this month.
Data debrief
Landing her third Italian Open title before turning 23, Swiatek is only the second player to achieve that feat after Gabriela Sabatini.
In fact, at 22 years and 352 days old, she is the youngest player to win 10 WTA 1000 titles since the introduction of the format in 2009.
The Pole also became the third player to triumph in Madrid and Rome during the same season, after Dinara Safina (2009) and Serena Williams (2013).
Jarry defeats Paul to set up Zverev showdown in Italian Open final
Nicolas Jarry defeated Tommy Paul in three sets on Friday to set up a showdown with Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open final.
The men's world number 24 prevailed 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in a little under three hours in Rome to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
Jarry earned the only break of serve in the eighth game of the opening set, but Paul - who dropped just one set in four matches en route to this stage - hit back in the second.
Birthday boy Paul lost serve to trail 4-2 at one stage, but he produced one of the shots of the tournament at the ideal moment and soon dragged it back to 4-4.
A gruelling set concluded with Paul taking the tie-break 7-3, but Jarry was unperturbed and won the deciding set with his fifth match point to see off Paul in a gruelling contest.
Data Debrief:
Jarry is the third male Chilean in the Open Era to reach the singles final of the Italian Open after Marcelo Rios (1997-98) and Fernando Gonzalez (2007).
The 28-year-old registered 13 aces against Paul to his opponent's seven and hit 35 winners to 19 in a deserved victory.
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