Day seven at the 2024 Italian Open featured all sixteen men in action and witnessed the end of Daniil Medvedev’s hopes of defending a title for the first time as he crashed out to Tommy Paul.
Fellow American Taylor Fritz also bagged a big win against Grigor Dimitrov to make the quarterfinals in Rome for the first time in his career.
The performance of the round went to Stefanos Tsitsipas, who crushed Alex de Minaur, but the Aussie failed to handle Tsitsipas’s heavy, spin-laden groundstrokes.
Sascha Zverev wasn’t far behind, putting in an equally impressive performance to take out Nuno Borges, 6-2, 7-5.
You can see all the results from Tuesday’s last sixteen matches and highlights.
Day Seven Italian Open 2024 Round of 16 Results
| Winner | Loser | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| Tommy Paul (14) | Daniil Medvedev (2) | 6-1, 6-4 |
| Alexander Zverev (3) | Nuno Borges | 6-2, 7-5 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas (6) | Alex de Minaur (9) | 6-1, 6-2 |
| Hubert Hurkacz (7) | Sebastian Baez (17) | 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4 |
| Taylor Fritz (11) | Grigor Dimitrov (8) | 6-2, 6-7(11), 6-1 |
| Alejandro Tabilo (29) | Karen Khachanov (16) | 7-6 (5), 7-6 (10) |
| Nicolas Jarry (22) | Alexandre Muller (Q) | 7-5, 6-3 |
| Zhizhen Zhang | Thiago Monteiro (Q) | 7-6(4), 6-3 |
Claylor Fritz Downs Dimitrov
Taylor Fritz is turning into a clay specialist this Spring, and he bagged one of his best wins on the surface on Tuesday at the Italian Open, triumphing over Grigor Dimitrov in an entertaining fourth-round match.
The 11th-seeded American recovered after squandering a match point in the second set break (in and amongst saving nine set points) before notching a 6-2, 6-7(11), 6-1 victory, marking his first quarterfinals appearance in Rome after five main-draw attempts.
Rather than dwelling on his missed chance in the breaker, Fritz played strongly in the deciding set, breaking Dimitrov early and carrying that momentum through to the final game, where he finally progressed after two hours and 42 minutes.
Fritz has had an impressive few weeks on the European clay. With a final run in Munich and the Rome draw wide open, he’s got a significant opportunity to go further this week.
If he continues playing well under pressure like today (he saved all 11 break points faced and fired down 13 aces), he has a realistic chance of being involved during the weekend.
Honestly, I feel like normally, in those situations, I’d be a lot more uptight and nervy, but honestly, I felt pretty calm. I think it was tough because slowly, the sun was moving the whole match, and right in the tie-breaker was the first time it was bad for me on that side. So, I threw in the double fault. I had a really good opportunity on a second serve [return], match point, and he hit it into my body a bit slower than the others. I caught it a bit early, trying to get out of it. It’s easy to go back and dwell on that the whole third set, but I did a really good job at just putting it behind me and not thinking about that second-serve return. Sometimes, you feel very good and are cool under pressure; sometimes, you don’t. It comes and it goes, and today I felt very calm throughout the whole match. I genuinely just felt calm today. Fritz on his win.
Paul Puts an End to Medvedev’s Title Defence
Tommy Paul delivered a commanding performance to defeat Daniil Medvedev at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Tuesday, ending the defending champion’s run and marking his first Top 20 victory on clay to advance to the quarterfinals.
The 26-year-old American, who missed most of the clay swing with an ankle injury, overwhelmed Medvedev 6-1, 6-4 in a match that lasted just 73 minutes.
Based on what I saw from Medvedev against Medjedovic, I had Paul winning this one quite easily. He exploited Medvedev’s deep positioning with forward movement and solid baseline play.
Medvedev, who can’t serve anymore or hit aggressive groundstrokes, dropped serve in all three of his service games of the first set. And while it wouldn’t be a Medvedev match without some gritty comeback where he forged a 2-0 in the second set, it was soon over as Paul quickly turned the tables, reeling off four straight games for 4-2 to win through.
Tstisipas Trounces De Minaur
Stefanos Tsitsipas laid down a significant marker on Tuesday, comprehensively dispatching Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-2 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Tsitsipas, who lost to de Minaur in their last encounter in Acapulco, rebounded emphatically in Rome. He completed the first set in just 23 minutes and maintained a high level of play throughout the match.
I was particularly impressed with his backhand, which looked solid from the baseline. It’s been a while since he exuded such confidence from that wing.
It was essentially a flawless performance, with the only real blip being when he dropped serve at 4-1 in the second set. However, he immediately broke again, curtailing any potential comeback from the Aussie.
Tsitsipas will face 21st seed Nicolas Jarry in the quarterfinals. Jarry earlier defeated Alexandre Muller 7-5, 6-3.
I tried to do the best that I could out there on the court by bringing the best quality to my strokes, and I delivered. Throughout the entire match, I was pretty consistent with my serves and ball placement. I could construct those points patiently and then wait for those shorter balls to come up. I felt that my opponent felt my ball’s heaviness and depth. It gave me courage, it gave me great belief in myself that I can continue pushing in that sense. I knew that I had something good working for me today. Tsitsipas on his dominant display.
Day 7 Highlights
Other Matches of Note
Tabilo Tops Khachanov: Following his surprise third-round victory over Novak Djokovic, the Chilean left-hander backed it up by defeating Karen Khachanov 7-6(5), 7-6(10). In a tense second-set tie-break, he saved two set points before clinching the match on his fifth match point.
Zhang Manouvers Past Monteiro: Zhang Zhizhen is on the cusp of being the first Chinese man to make the last four at a Masters 1000 after a 7-6(4), 6-3 over Thiago Monteiro. Zhang delivered ten aces and saved all four break points in his one-hour and 56-minute match. He will face Tabilo in the quarterfinals.
Hurkacz Edges Baez: The Pole emerged victorious from a challenging three-set match against Sebastian Baez, winning 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4 on the Pietrangeli court. The match lasted two hours and 39 minutes, with Hurkacz overcoming being a break down in the second set and a 1/3 deficit in the tie-break.
Jarry Makes Last Eight: Nicolás Jarry decisively defeated Frenchman Alexandre Muller in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals – a significant moment for Chilean tennis, as Jarry follows compatriot Alejandro Tabilo into the Masters 1000 quarterfinals, a historic first for the country. Initially, Muller broke Jarry’s serve. However, Jarry quickly regained composure and broke back in the final game of the first set, setting the tone for the remainder of the match.
Zverev Brushes Aside Borges: The third-seeded German smoothly defeated Nuno Borges 6-2, 7-5. Zverev, who has reached at least the fourth round in every Masters 1000 tournament this year, dominated from the baseline in his first-ever match against Borges and will Fritz in the last eight.
Italian Open 2024 Day 8 Quarter Final Schedule
- Alejandro Tabilo (29) vs Zhizhen Zhang
- Alexander Zverev (3) vs Taylor Fritz (11)
