The day of the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Rome began with the logical victories of some of the favorites, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. And it closed with a powerful blow by Denis Shapovalov, who fell to Spanish Rafael Nadal, third seed and maximum winner in Italian tournament history.

Djokovic came as no surprise in their round of 16 clash, beating Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-2 to take another solid step toward his first title of the season. The Serbian, number one in the world, showed no mercy to the Swiss, who will return to the circuit after a year and a half without competition due to a severe knee injury, and scored a solid victory that also boosted his illusion ahead of Roland Nails.

In the same set, Djokovic broke the serve of the 37-year-old former number three in the rankings and comfortably dominated the scoreboard. He quickly led to victory in each of the two sets and he did not see his supremacy on the court at enormous risk. Although in the second round he struggled more because the Swiss played better, forcing him to execute some high-class shots.

“I played from the start. I moved very well all over the court and I was very comfortable with my serving, except when I lost my serve in the second set,” the Serb commented, recalling his very short bump in the fifth game. , when his rival was able to discount and stay at 2-4.

“Stan isn’t physically at the level he wants, but he can hurt you if you give him time and space. It’s nice to see him back on the courts,” added the number one and five-time champion at the Foro Italico,

Nole seems to be redirecting a season that started very hard. And not just because of any physical or tennis problems, but because of his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid. That position prevented him from playing in the Australian Open – where Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam – or the Indian Wells and Miami Masters. After playing a separate tournament in February in Dubai (he reached the quarterfinals), he recently started playing regularly on this slow court European tour, where he accumulated elimination in his debut in Monte Carlo, a final in Belgrade and a defeat. in the semis.from Madrid.

Djokovic, who wants to reach one hundred percent in Paris, where he is defending the title, will face Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime (9th) this Friday in the quarterfinals, who beat American Marcos Giron, the executioner on Wednesday by Argentine Diego Schwartzman. If he loses that game, he will give world number 1 to Daniil Medvedev, even if the Russian did not play in Rome.

The big surprise of the day was the removal of Nadal, who, with obvious pain in his left foot, fell in three sets against Shapovalov. The Canadian, 16th in the world and 23 years old, did not lose his head after losing the first set unopposed and ended up in a very difficult match, which he won 1-6, 7-5 and 6-2 .

It was only in the second set that Rafa, number four in the world, began to show signs of illness and complications, moving around on the court, affected by the chronic injury he had sustained since 2005 and forced him to close out his 2021 season. in August.

The Spaniard returned at the start of the year and won the Australian Open to add to his 21st Grand Slam. But in Indian Wells he suffered a stress fracture in one of his ribs and had to stop again within a few weeks. He returned to the Masters 1000 in Madrid last week, where he lost in the quarters to his 19-year-old compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, the new sensation on the circuit. And in Rome, he returned to say goodbye as soon as possible.

Although more than an early defeat, the Mallorcan is certainly more concerned with that pain in his foot, which aggravates the panoramic thinking about Roland Garros, where from May 22 he will go for his 14th and title.

Shapovalov will face Norwegian Casper Ruud (5th) in the quarterfinals, who beat American Jenson Brooksby 6-3 and 6-4.

On the other hand, Zverev, second favorite, achieved his 100th victory at the Masters 1000 in Rome, beating Australian Alex de Miñaur 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, he will face Chilean Christian Garín (45th), who achieved a prestigious victory over Croatian veteran Marin Cilic (23rd) by 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

For her part, Tsitsipas, seeded fourth, lost her first set 4-6 against Russian Karen Khachanov (24th) but swept the next two sets 6-0 and 6-3, to guarantee her passage to the quarterfinals. Now he will face Italian Jannik Sinner-(13th), winner 6-2 and 7-6 (8-6) by Serbian Filip Krajinovic.

Schwartzman, in quarters of doubles with Isner

Diego Schwartzman is no longer in contention for the Rome Masters 1000 singles title, but is still in the running for the doubles draw with John Isner. El Peque and his giant teammate defeated Colombians Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah, one of the strongest couples on the circuit and fifth favorite, on Thursday 6-3, 3-6 and 12-10, and entered the quarterfinals.

In the next round, they will face British Lloyd Glasspool and Finn Harri Heliovaara, who fell in the first round to top favorites Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram and defeated Australian Thanasi 6-3, 3-6 and 10.- 8 Kokkinakis and the American Frances Tiafoe.