Rafael Nadal enjoyed serene progress into round four at Wimbledon with a stylish 6-1 6-2 6-4 defeat of Lorenzo Sonego on Saturday.

For the first time at SW19 this week, there was little evidence of Nadal's recent fitness problems as he completely outclassed his Italian opponent.

And on this form, the calendar Grand Slam appears a genuine possibility for the Australian Open and French Open champion.

Indeed, it was hard not to feel sorry for Sonego – and he did appear to have the sympathy of the Centre Court crowd – as Nadal's strokes painted pretty patterns around him.

The Spaniard remarkably dropped only two points on his own serve in the first set – both to double-faults. It was a similar story in Sonego's service games, too, as he held at the first attempt but then lost the next nine in succession.

Such was Nadal's superiority a relieved Sonego lifted his arms to salute the crowd as he finally held serve in the fifth game of the second and was given a generous cheer.

That small victory scarcely slowed Nadal, who wrapped up the second on his own serve and then blasted Sonego away in the opening game of the third to break once again.

Sonego soon found a more effective way to hold up his opponent, however, appealing at length for the Centre Court roof to be closed and eventually succeeding after a brave hold and a handful of points on Nadal's serve informed officials he was capable of dragging the contest out under fading light.

So it briefly proved, as Nadal – perhaps irked by the delay – lost his composure and was broken to love after Sonego made a noise as he approached the ball; Nadal deemed the umpire an unnecessary middle man and called Sonego over for a word, clearly upsetting the Italian.

A fired-up Nadal immediately broke back, and after finally delivering a little drama, the match – and Sonego's campaign – was over.

Data Slam: Rafa ramping up

This was Sonego's first meeting with Nadal, and he might have picked a better time to face this fiercely focused great. The 22-time major champion has now won 10 third-round Wimbledon matches in a row, including the past four without dropping a set. Sonego had a hard enough time merely winning a game for much of the match.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 24/17
Sonego – 19/17

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 2/4
Sonego – 2/2

BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 6/8
Sonego – 1/1

Daniil Medvedev eventually mastered the windy conditions as he came from behind to keep his Mallorca Championships defence alive, but Jannik Sinner and Diego Schwartzman crashed out in Eastbourne. 

World number one Medvedev fought back from a set down to defeat Aslan Karatsev 3-6 6-4 6-2 and advance to a quarter-final against fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who was granted a walkover after Nick Kyrgios pulled out with an abdominal issue. 

The Russian got just 48 per cent of his first serves in during a blustery opening set before improving to 68 per cent in the second and controlling the decider as Karatsev struggled with injury. 

"It was tough to play [in] rhythm. It felt like many points were just whoever managed to put the ball in the court was going to win the point," Medvedev said of the tricky conditions. 

"It was not easy but I'm happy to win because that's the most important [thing]. 

"Last year was amazing. I played great tennis. Hopefully I can do the same this year. I like it here in Mallorca, so hopefully I can stay as long as possible in the tournament." 

Alongside Medvedev and Bautista Agut, Stefanos Tsitsipas is the only other seed left in the draw after he overcame Ilya Ivashka 6-4 6-4. 

Denis Shapovalov was a 6-4 6-1 loser against Benjamin Bonzi, Pablo Carreno Busta went down 6-3 6-4 to Antoine Bellier and Sebastian Baez's meeting with Daniel Altmaier ended in a 6-2 2-6 6-4 defeat for the Argentine. 

At the Eastbourne International, second seed Sinner suffered a 6-3 3-6 6-3 loss to Tommy Paul as he made his return from a knee injury sustained at the French Open.

World number 13 Sinner remains without a grass-court win in his ATP Tour career, while Paul will next face defending champion Alex de Minaur, who overcame Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 in a repeat of last year's final. 

Jack Draper defeated fourth seed Diego Schwartzman 7-5 7-6 (7-3) to advance to the quarter-finals and Cameron Norrie cruised past Brandon Nakashima in straight sets.

There were also wins for Maxime Cressy, Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz. 

Ryan Peniston stunned French Open quarter-finalist Holger Rune at the Eastbourne International to continue his strong form on the grass.

Peniston beat world number five Casper Ruud as he reached the quarter-finals at the Queen's Club Championships last week, and followed that up by recovering from a set down against Rune to reach Eastbourne's last 16 in impressive fashion.

After wrapping up a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 win, the 26-year-old told the home crowd: "I'm very happy with that. A tough start but I managed to fight, thanks to you guys.

"Since Queen's it has been madness. A couple of weeks ago was a lot different and things have changed, but I'm loving it."

Rune, who was twice two points from victory in an enthralling contest, was jeered by spectators after hitting a ball out of court and kicking his towel bin after being broken in the third set.

Peniston will face Pedro Martinez in the next round after he benefited from fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina being forced to retire at one set apiece, while Ugo Humbert fell to a 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 reverse against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro.

Lorenzo Sonego posted a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) win over James Duckworth, while Tommy Paul recovered from a set down to beat Francisco Cerundolo and home favourite Dan Evans overcame Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-3.

The seeds in action at the Mallorca Open endured mixed fortunes as Sebastian Baez cruised past Jordan Thompson in straight sets, but Botic van de Zandschulp was beaten by Marcos Giron.

The Dutchman succumbed to a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-2) defeat, while Germany's Daniel Altmaier beat Dusan Lajovic 7-5 7-6 (7-2).

Nick Kyrgios set up an enticing last-16 meeting with fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut by knocking out Serbia's Laslo Djere in a marathon three-set contest, recovering to win 5-7 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-1).

Lorenzo Sonego eased into the second round of the Stuttgart Open on Monday, while Hugo Gaston enjoyed first-round success at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships.

Sixth seed Sonego was the headline act on Monday in Stuttgart and made light work of Benoit Paire to win 7-5 6-2.

The Italian will next face Jan-Lennard Struff after the German edged out world number 53 Marcos Giron 7-5 5-7 7-6 (10-8).

"It's my first time here, it's my first tournament on grass and I'm really happy [with] this match," Sonego said after defeating Paire.

"It's never easy to pass from clay to grass, but I enjoy it because if I serve good it is easier for me."

Struff's compatriot Oscar Otte was another first-round winner with straight-sets victory over Daniel Altmaier, while Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi breezed past Feliciano Lopez.

In Rosmalen, poor weather wreaked havoc with the schedule but France's Gaston had little trouble against South Korean Kwon Soon-woo, winning 6-2 6-1 to reach the last 16, and Andreas Seppi battled past Gijs Brouwer in the second round of qualifying.

Seppi will be hoping to make it to the main draw, where world number two Daniil Medvedev is the top seed, with Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz also competing.

Stan Wawrinka said he was "feeling great" after securing his first win in 15 months by downing 14th seed Reilly Opelka at the Internazionali d'Italia.

The three-time grand slam winner made his tour return last month after requiring two surgeries on a left foot injury, but rallied after losing his first set against Opelka to secure a memorable 3-6 7-5 6-2 first-round victory.

Speaking after booking a second-round meeting with Laslo Djere, who beat Borna Coric 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2, Wawrinka said his desire to play at the top level never left him, despite his injury woes.

"I think in general I was feeling good on the court, physically I was feeling great," he said. "For sure, when you don't win a match in more than a year, you start to think about it more than you should and not focus on the right things. 

"In general, I think it was a great match, a great battle. I stayed positive. I started to feel much better with my tennis by the end of the second set, and in the third set. I'm really happy with this victory.

"After two surgeries, at my age I could easily have stopped playing because my career is way better than what I expected when I was young.

"But I still have this fire in me. I still believe that I can play great tennis. I still believe that I make some big results, maybe not now, but in a few months."

Fellow former grand slam champion Dominic Thiem, who also returned from a long injury-enforced absence last month, fared less well, going down in straight sets to Fabio Fognini.

Having lost to Andy Murray at the Madrid Open last time out, 2020 US Open winner Thiem is still chasing his first victory of the year after losing 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to the 34-year-old Italian.

Elsewhere, 13th seed Denis Shapovalov edged an epic three-hour contest against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3, responding after being handed a game penalty for shouting expletives at a partisan crowd in Rome during the second set.

The frustrated Canadian was heard to tell spectators: "Shut the f*** up" when being booed after complaining about a second serve being called out by the umpire, but eventually regained his composure to claim a three-set win.

Shapovalov will face Georgia's world number 25 Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round after he overcame Daniel Evans 7-6 (7-2) 6-2, while the only other seed to play on Monday, Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta, cruised to a 6-3 6-2 victory over Federico Delbonis.

There were victories for John Isner and Dan Evans as the Madrid Open got up and running on Sunday.

Big-serving American Isner overcame Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 and will face either Cameron Norrie or Kwon Soon-woo in the round of 32.

Isner is joined in the next round by Evans, who eased past Federico Delbonis 6-3 6-4 to set up a last-32 meeting with either Roberto Bautista Agut or Jenson Brooksby.

Fellow Briton Jack Draper also enjoyed a straight-sets victory, edging out Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-3 to book a clash with number six seed Andrey Rublev, who received a bye.

Monday's action will see wildcard Andy Murray face Dominic Thiem and 10th seed Jannik Sinner take on Tommy Paul.

Nick Kyrgios pulled out of the Sydney Tennis Classic due to testing positive for coronavirus shortly before he was due to face Italy's Fabio Fognini.

The Australian had been one of the tournament's major draws as the home favourite but now cannot compete and that has subsequently thrown his Australian Open participation into question.

Fognini took full advantage of the situation as he saw off lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-3 7-5 to move into the second round.

There he will be joined by – among others – David Goffin, with the Belgian winning a game for the first time in eight months as he beat Facundo Bagnis 6-4 6-4 after an injury-ravaged 2021.

Fifth-seed Lorenzo Sonego was the highest seed in action and he was made to work hard for his 3-6 6-3 7-5 win over Hugo Gaston, needing almost two hours and 45 minutes to get the job done.

The day's other game saw Jordan Thompson win on home soil, beating Marcos Giron fairly comfortably 6-4 6-2.

At the Adelaide International 2, Tommy Paul came out on top in the battle of the Americans as he cruised to an impressive 6-2 6-3 win over Frances Tiafoe in just 69 minutes.

Local boy Aleksandar Vukic clinched the biggest scalp of his professional career as the world number 156 – a wild card entry for the tournament – beat Alexander Bublik 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.

Arthur Rinderknech and Jaume Munar also progressed, the latter defeating Australia's John Millman.

Andrey Rublev needed almost two hours but his punishing forehand helped him to victory over Diego Schwartzman in the San Diego Open quarter-finals on Friday.

Top seed Rublev won 6-1 7-5 in one hour and 52 minutes over the Argentine, who kept on coming throughout the contest.

The Russian world number five's victory books his spot in the last four where he will face Briton Cameron Norrie, who upset fourth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-1.

Rublev is featuring in his eighth semi-final of the calendar year and chasing his first title since winning in Rotterdam in February.

He had been a break up in the second set after dominating the first, but Schwartzman broke back.

The second set appeared destined for a tie-break with Schwartzman up 40-0 on serve at 5-6, before Rublev won the next five points to claim victory.

"The second set was very tough and enjoyable for the spectators to watch," Rublev said. "Every game was really tough with amazing points and the set could have gone either way."

Second seed Casper Ruud defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-4 to book his semi-final spot where he will meet Grigor Dimitrov who beat Aslan Karatsev in three sets.

Ruud's win improved his 2021 record to 45-12, with the 22-year-old Norwegian rising to a ranking of 10.

Andrey Rublev needed almost two hours but his punishing forehand helped him to victory over Diego Schwartzman in the San Diego Open quarter-finals on Friday.

Top seed Rublev won 6-1 7-5 in one hour and 52 minutes over the Argentine, who kept on coming throughout the contest.

The Russian world number five's victory books his spot in the last four where he will face Briton Cameron Norrie, who upset fourth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-1.

Rublev is featuring in his eighth semi-final of the calendar year and chasing his first title since winning in Rotterdam in February.

He had been a break up in the second set after dominating the first, but Schwartzman broke back.

The second set appeared destined for a tie-break with Schwartzman up 40-0 on serve at 5-6, before Rublev won the next five points to claim victory.

"The second set was very tough and enjoyable for the spectators to watch," Rublev said. "Every game was really tough with amazing points and the set could have gone either way."

Second seed Casper Ruud defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-4 to book his semi-final spot where he will meet Grigor Dimitrov who beat Aslan Karatsev in three sets.

Ruud's win improved his 2021 record to 45-12, with the 22-year-old Norwegian rising to a ranking of 10.

Andy Murray's stay in San Diego was short-lived, as the veteran fell to second seed Casper Ruud in straight sets Thursday. 

World number 10 Ruud prevailed 7-5 6-4 over the three-time grand slam winner, rolling to victory after a shaky start. 

Murray broke Ruud in the 22-year-old's second service game of the match, but could not maintain the advantage as Ruud converted five of six break points in the match. 

Ruud will face ninth seed Lorenzo Sonego, who defeated Sebastian Korda 6-4 6-3, saving six of seven break points against his own serve while converting all three of his chances on Korda's. 

Fourth seed Denis Shapovalov defeated Taylor Fritz 7-6 (9-7) 6-2, saving six set points in the process. 

The Canadian moves on to a quarter-final meeting with Cameron Norrie, who downed Daniel Evans 7-6 (7-3) 6-3. 

Grigor Dimitrov dominated August Holmgren 6-1 6-1 in 56 minutes, winning 83 per cent of his service points.

Dimitrov next faces Aslan Karatsev, who rallied to upset fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz 5-7 6-4 6-2. 

Roger Federer booked his place in an 18th Wimbledon quarter-final as he secured a straight-sets victory over Lorenzo Sonego.

The Swiss great took firm control after winning a topsy-turvy opener to run out a 7-5 6-4 6-2 winner on Centre Court at the All England Club.

He will now face either Hubert Hurkacz or Daniil Medvedev for a place in the semi-finals as he pursues a 21st grand slam title in SW19.

Sonego's resolve was eventually broken in a thrilling first set that saw Federer go a break up before losing his advantage and then getting it straight back when his opponent double-faulted after a brief rain delay.

And although the Italian had two break points in the final game of that set, his failure to take either marked the end of his challenge in earnest.

A Federer break in the fifth game of the second set helped the eight-time Wimbledon champion extend his advantage to two with little fuss.

And he required just 30 minutes to wrap up the third and continue another deep run in a tournament that has seen some of his best tennis down the years.

Data slam: Federer errs despite victory

Although Federer ultimately cruised to victory in this one, things could have been very different had Sonego taken a nip-and-tuck first set.

And the Italian was given every chance to do so by his opponent, whose 17 unforced errors in the opener – to Sonego's nine – ensured the contest remained cagey.

If Federer is to keep his Wimbledon dream alive as the quality of his opponents increase, he will need to play with greater precision.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Federer – 32/26
Sonego – 23/26

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Federer – 4/1
Sonego – 4/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Federer – 5/15
Sonego – 1/3

Alex De Minaur claimed the first grass-court title of his career with a hard-fought three-set victory over Lorenzo Sonego in the Viking International final.

De Minaur lost the first set against his Italian opponent, who reached a career-high ranking of 26 earlier this month, but the Australian fought back to prevail 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

Having forced a decider, it was De Minaur who had the most left in the third-set tie-break, which decided an entertaining contest that lasted two hours and 40 minutes.

It marked De Minaur's second title of 2021 following his success at the Antalya Open back in January.

Prior to Saturday, all four of De Minaur's ATP titles had come on hard courts.

However, an excellent backhand return of a second serve set him up for a forehand smash to clinch a triumph that should give him great confidence heading into Wimbledon.

De Minaur starts his campaign at the All England Club on Monday with a testing opening clash against Sebastian Korda while Sonego faces Pedro Sousa.

Speaking at the presentation, De Minaur paid tribute to Sonego, who recently lost his grandmother.

"Everyone should congratulate Lorenzo for an incredible week. Everyone should be scared of you at Wimbledon next week," said De Minaur.

"It's been a long week, I've played some great tennis, I've managed to pull through a very tough win.

"Hopefully I can keep it going through Wimbledon, I can't wait to go there next week."

Daniil Medvedev reached the first grass-court final of his career as he saw off Pablo Carreno Busta at the Mallorca Championships.

Medvedev, the top seed, had to come from a set down against his Spanish opponent, winning 3-6 6-3 6-2 to tee up a showdown against Sam Querrey.

The world number two has won 10 ATP Tour titles, but they have all come on hard courts.

"I know that I can play well on grass," said Medvedev, who followed up a quarter-final run at Roland Garros with a first-round defeat to Jan-Lennard Struff at the Halle Open.

"Unfortunately we don't have that many tournaments, only one ATP 500 and one grand slam. It's going to be a special feeling [if I] win my first title on grass.

"I still don't have one on clay, even if I have one final. Adding these titles, especially on different surfaces, can help your confidence and it’s just a great thing for your career."

World number 13 Carreno Busta had looked sharp in successive straight-set wins en route to the semi-finals, and started Friday's encounter in good form.

He had not dropped serve across the first four sets of his campaign in Mallorca and extended that streak by saving three break points in the opening set.

However, Medvedev – who has been drawn in the same half as Roger Federer at Wimbledon – rallied and served out the one-hour, 56-minute victory with an ace.

Querrey, meanwhile, will be going for his first ATP Tour title since 2017 after he cruised to a 6-4 6-3 win over unseeded Adrian Mannarino.

Another player who is hunting for his first Tour triumph on grass is Alex de Minaur, who defeated Soon Woo Kwon 6-3 7-6 (7-2) to progress to the Viking International final.

The world number 18 has won four hard-court titles and will go up against Lorenzo Sonego for the crown in Eastbourne.

Sonego beat De Minaur's compatriot Max Purcell 6-1 3-6 6-1. The Italian triumphed at the Sardegna Open in April.

Novak Djokovic dug deep in the face of fierce Roman resistance to set up a showdown with Rafael Nadal in the men's final at the Internazionali d'Italia.

World number one Djokovic came from a set down overnight to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6 7-5 7-5 early on Saturday, before returning to the court to face Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the evening.

The Rome crowd raucously rallied behind Sonego, who beat Andrey Rublev earlier in the day, and the 26-year-old rose to the challenge but eventually fell to a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 defeat.

Djokovic had match points before serving for it at 6-5 in the second set, yet it was to prove a stirring game as the noisy home crowd encouraged Sonego, who snatched a gutsy break. The tie-break looked set to be wholly one-sided when Djokovic raced 3-0 ahead, but it was soon back on serve, partisan spectators at the Foro Italico roaring in delight at a double fault from the Serbian.

From 4-2 behind, Sonego surged to 6-4 ahead in the tie-break. He failed to convert a first set point when ripping a forehand into the net, but the set was his when Djokovic sent a backhand service return long.

Sonego then had 0-40 against the Djokovic serve at the start of the decider, but he could not force the break, and the top seed gained strength from that escape, eventually cruising to victory.

Five-time Rome champion Djokovic said on Amazon Prime: "I bounced back very well after the second set. Maybe if he started with a break up in the third, things would look differently. I also had my chances and I only had myself to blame for not closing the match in straight sets.

"But he's a quality player, very dynamic, it's not easy to play against him and obviously he had the crowd behind him. It was an electric atmosphere. In the end I managed to close out the match really well."

Looking ahead to tackling Nadal, Djokovic said: "I need to recover. Hopefully I'll have fresh legs because that's what I definitely will need and it's necessary to have a chance against Rafa. He also had some tough matches [this week] and hopefully I'll be fresh and I'll give it all."

While Djokovic and Sonego thrashed away into the night, nine-time champion Nadal had no such workload issues on Saturday.

Nadal beat Alexander Zverev on Friday to set up a semi-final against American Reilly Opelka, and the Spaniard snatched a 6-4 6-4 win from that contest to reach the title match.

Novak Djokovic's Internazionali BNL d'Italia quarter-final with Stefanos Tsitsipas was halted by persistent rain on Friday with the world number one a set and a game down.

Reigning champion Djokovic, who is seeking a sixth triumph in Rome, struggled to get going against Tsitsipas and trails 6-4 2-1 ahead of the scheduled resumption of play on Saturday.

The top seed lost serve in the first game and continued to make some uncharacteristic errors that saw him trail 4-1 at one point.

While Djokovic did earn a first break in the sixth game, Tsitsipas stood firm to take the opening set and was in total control when again breaking his opponent early in the next set.

However, soon after the Greek had opened up a 2-1 advantage, the worsening conditions led to a pause in proceedings and organisers were eventually forced to bring the day's play to an end.

Djokovic, who converted just one of his six break point opportunities, will return to the court on Saturday and will need to improve if he is to join Rafael Nadal in the final four.

Nadal exacted some revenge on Alexander Zverev earlier on Friday to reach the semi-finals for a 12th time.

The Spaniard lost to Zverev at the same stage of the Madrid Open seven days ago but responded to questions over his form by easing through this latest encounter.

Nadal, who saved two match points before beating Denis Shapovalov on Thursday, raced 4-0 ahead in the first set against Zverev and had little trouble seeing the job through.

Aiming for a record-extending 10th title in the Italian capital, Nadal saved all eight break points he faced in the second set to advance 6-3 6-4 in two hours.

"I played more solid than Madrid. Conditions are different," he said in his post-match interview. "Here the conditions are a little more normal. I was able to control a little bit more."

"I'm happy. I played a very solid match with not many mistakes, playing the way that I have to. It's an important victory for me against a great player."

Nadal will face Reilly Opelka for a place in the final, the American beating qualifier Federico Delbonis 7-5 7-6 (7-2) to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

Opelka entered the tournament on a six-game losing streak, but he kept his good run going in Rome by earning the only break of the opening set in the 12th game.

Both players held throughout the second set and it was big-serving Opelka who prevailed 7-2 in the tie-break.

The day's other quarter-final between Lorenzo Sonego and Andrey Rublev also fell victim to the bad weather and will get under way on Saturday.