Alexander Zverev and Elena Rybakina booked their places in the fourth round of the Italian Open on Sunday with straight-sets wins at the Foro Italico, while Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo was knocked out by home favorite Lorenzo Musetti in a match that drew tears from the Italian on Centre Court.
Zverev, the world number three and a two-time Rome champion, dropped just five games against 21-year-old Belgian Alexander Blockx in a 6-1, 6-4 win. Blockx had reached the Madrid semifinals two weeks ago — a run ended by Zverev — and arrived in Rome on the back of two three-set victories this week.
The German, still smarting from his heavy defeat to Jannik Sinner in last Sunday’s Madrid final, will next face Italy’s Luciano Darderi, who recovered from a set down to beat American Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
“I’m taking it match by match, that’s the most important thing. Not looking too far ahead so you don’t think about things you can’t control,” Zverev said after his win, with Sinner standing as the overwhelming favorite to lift the only Masters 1000 title missing from his collection.
Prizmic and Jodar press on. Croatia’s Dino Prizmic, the 19-year-old who stunned Novak Djokovic in the second round on Thursday, kept his breakout week alive with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over France’s Ugo Humbert.
The world number 79 will meet Russia’s Karen Khachanov for a place in the quarterfinals. Spain’s Rafael Jodar, carrying domestic hopes during Carlos Alcaraz’s injury layoff, also advanced, beating Italian wild card Matteo Arnaldi 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to set up a fourth-round meeting with American Learner Tien.
Musetti emotional after Cerundolo win. Cerundolo’s run ended on Centre Court against Musetti, the Italian number two, who battled past the Argentine 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 despite admitting afterwards he was carrying physical issues.
The eighth seed, who has gone 12-6 this season while managing multiple injuries, was visibly emotional after sealing the win, saying he had been carried “by the warmth and affection of the crowd” and that he was “not 100 percent physically.” Musetti next plays Norway’s Casper Ruud, a reliable performer on clay.
Swiatek-Osaka set for marquee clash. In the women’s draw, world number two Rybakina needed little more than an hour to see off Filipino qualifier Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-3, reaching the Rome last 16 for the first time since her 2023 title run. The Kazakh next faces former world number one Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.
The pick of the round of 16, however, is a meeting between Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka, two Grand Slam champions who have not faced each other since their 2024 Roland Garros classic. Swiatek, the four-time French Open champion, dispatched Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-0 in 65 minutes, while Osaka was equally ruthless in a 6-1, 6-2 win over Russia’s Diana Shnaider that lasted just 54 minutes.
“For me, matches like this are the most fun to play. I’m looking forward to it,” Osaka said. American fifth seed Jessica Pegula was the other big name through, brushing aside Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova 6-0, 6-0.
With Roland Garros now two weeks away, Rome remains the final major tune-up of the clay swing, and a draw shorn of Djokovic and Cerundolo is opening up as Sinner’s bid for a home title moves toward the business end.
