Jannik Sinner lived up to his billing as Wimbledon’s poster boy by booking a grand slam semi-final place for the first time in his career.
The Italian featured prominently in an official poster alongside Carlos Alcaraz as the future of the tournament.
His presence on illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt’s artwork raised eyebrows but he is living up to the hype after reaching a grand slam semi-final for the first time with a masterful 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-2 win over Roman Safiullin.
He is the youngest man to reach this stage of Wimbledon since 2007, a record that will only last until tomorrow.
But the eighth seed certainly has the game for success at SW19, dropping just two sets on his way to the last four, and was too good for the Russian, who was enjoying a breakout grand slam.
His power from the baseline and mobility around court will stand him in good stead for what is now likely to be the toughest test possible of his credentials by facing Novak Djokovic in the last four.
He said: “What should I say, it means a lot to me, we put a lot of work in and many, many hours and a lot of sacrifices for this moment.
“It means a lot, it is a very nice moment for me. I just try my best every match, I am very happy to be in the semi-finals.
“He is a very tough player to play against.”
Sinner took early control of the match and forced break points at 2-2 though could not convert, but made no mistake at 4-4, chasing down a drop shot to set up the break.
Some fierce serving allowed him to quickly take the first set and when he struck early in the second to lead 3-1 it looked like it would be over very quickly.
But Safiullin, who had never been past the second round at a grand slam before this tournament, was able to recapture the form that had seen him beat Roberto Bautista Agut and Denis Shapovalov and reeled off five successive games to level up.
Sinner was able to wrestle back control and regained the lead thanks to four successive games at the end of the third set.
He fended off break points at the start of the fourth and that proved pivotal as he made his move at 3-2, sealing a break as Safiullin pulled a forehand wide.
Sinner wrapped things up quickly after that to book his first last-four appearance at a grand slam.
Medvedev pushed all the way to avoid third-round scare in Italian Open
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.
Swiatek passes Kerber test to reach Italian Open quarter-finals
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.
Osaka sees encouraging Italian Open run halted by Zheng in last 16
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.
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