Juan Martin del Potro had the marble statues surrounding Stadio Pietrangeli reverberating on Thursday evening as the former World No. 4 outclassed seventh seed Kei Nishikori 7-6(4), 6-3, on one of the most picturesque courts in world tennis, at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

It was the Argentinean’s first victory on clay courts over a Top 10 opponent in the Emirates ATP Rankings since 2012 Roland Garros, when he beat then-No. 7-ranked Tomas Berdych in the fourth round. He is now also 1-4 this year against the elite performers.

Del Potro had the support of the majority of the 3,500-strong crowd to stride into the quarter-finals for the first time in eight years, where he will meet World No. 2 Novak Djokovic for the third time this year. Although Djokovic won their two clashes in 2017 at the BNP Paribas Open and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, memories of their thrilling three-setter in Acapulco will mean Friday’s clash is a must-see.

Del Potro got off to the best possible start, but Nishikori fought back in a tense first-set, which was decided on a tie-break. He broke for a 3-1 lead in the second set, then narrowly failed to convert his first match point on Nishikori’s serve at 2-5, Ad-out, with a running forehand down the tramline. But del Potro closed out to love with an ace, in the next game, to complete the one-hour, 54-minute encounter.

Del Potro lost to Djokovic in the 2009 semi-finals, while Nishikori was forced to withdraw ahead of last week’s Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals, where he would have met Djokovic, due to right wrist pain.

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Alexander Zverev, the #NextGenATP German, booked a place in his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season (also Miami, Madrid) on Thursday with victory over Italian favourite Fabio Fognini at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The 20-year-old Zverev silenced supporters at the Foro Italico with a performance of great maturity and efficiency in a 6-3, 6-3 win over 78 minutes. He will next face a fellow big-server, fifth seed Milos Raonic or No. 12 seed Tomas Berdych.

Zverev, the No. 16 seed, controlled the pair’s first meeting – breaking once in the first set for a 3-1 lead, and later five straight games to 4-0 in the second set. Despite the best efforts of the Roman crowd, Fognini’s frustration was evident for all to see.

Zverev is now 24-9 on the season, which includes capturing two ATP World Tour titles at the Open Sud de France (d. Gasquet) and the BMW Open by FWU (l. to Pella). He leads the Emirates ATP Race To Milan for one of eight spots at the 21-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals from 7-11 November.

Fognini, who recorded the biggest win of his career over World No. 1 Andy Murray on Tuesday night, had been trying to become the first Italian to reach the Rome quarter-finals since Andreas Seppi in 2012. He will now return home to his wife, 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, who is due to give birth to their first child on Friday.

Raonic, the 2014 Rome semi-finalist, leads 2013 semi-finalist Berdych 4-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. The duo plays later today.

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Internazionali BNL d’Italia – Rome, Italy 

Some of the best players on the ATP World Tour had the chance to enjoy the historic sights of Rome. Tomas Berdych and his wife, Ester Satorova, visited the world-renowned Colosseum.

Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Andreas Seppi participated in the draw ceremony held at the Arch of Constantine.

Dominic Thiem traded his tennis sneakers for flip-flops while participating in the on-site Kids’ Day.

Andy Murray celebrated his 30th birthday on Monday with a cake.

Mischa Zverev hosted the upcoming edition of ATP World Tour Uncovered and interviewed World No. 1 Murray for it.

Novak Djokovic, Fabio Fognini, Roberto Bautista Agut and Sam Querrey visited with sponsors and met fans during various activities throughout the week. 

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following matches Thursday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia & vote for who you think will win!
Nadal v Sock | Djokovic vs Bautista Agut | Nishikori v Del Potro | Fognini v Zverev

 The third round on Thursday features eight of the Top 9 seeds with a blockbuster line-up with No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, No. 4 and seven-time champion Rafael Nadal leading the way. Overall 11 of the Top 16 seeds are remaining. In addition, three Americans are in the third round in Rome for the first time since 2002 with No. 13 seed Jack Sock and unseeded John Isner and Sam Querrey. In 2002, Andre Agassi won the title, Andy Roddick reached the SFs and James Blake advanced to the QFs.

In the opening match on Centrale, top Italian Fabio Fognini takes on #NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev for the first time. Fognini is coming off his biggest career win over No. 1 Andy Murray on Tuesday night and he is trying to become the first Italian to reach the quarter-finals in Rome since Andreas Seppi in 2012. The 20-year-old Zverev leads the Emirates ATP Race to Milan and he is aiming to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season (Miami, Madrid).

In the third match on, Roberto Bautista Agut plays Djokovic, who has won five of the previous six meetings, including both clay contests last year at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid and Roland Garros. The Spaniard won the last encounter in the semi-finals at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai last October. Bautista Agut is 6-33 vs. Top 10 opponents with all six wins coming on hard courts. He is 0-9 on clay vs. Top 10 foes. Four-time champion Djokovic is trying to reach the quarter-finals in Rome for the 11th straight year.

In the evening session, seven-time champion Nadal brings a 3-0 head-to-head record against top American Sock. Nadal comes in with a 16-match winning streak and he posted his 50th career win in Rome on Wednesday as countryman Nicolas Almagro retired with a left knee injury. The 30-year-old Spaniard has a 13-0 record against Americans on clay. Sock is 6-18 lifetime against Top 10 opponents and this is only the second time he’s facing a Top 10 player on clay. He lost to Nadal in the 4R at 2015 Roland Garros. Sock is trying to become the first American to reach the quarter-finals in Rome since Roddick (SFs) and Blake (QFs) in 2008.

In the opening match on Next Gen Arena, No. 9 seed David Goffin and No. 6 Marin Cilic square off for the fifth time. Goffin won three of the four meetings last year. Goffin is looking to reach the quarter-finals for the third straight year and Cilic for the first time since 2011. In the next match on No. 12 Tomas Berdych and No. 5 Milos Raonic battle it out. The Canadian leads the series 4-2 and Berdych won the only previous clay meeting at 2015 ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo. In the final match on, the past two Acapulco champions, No. 8 seed Dominic Thiem and Querrey meet for the third time (tied 1-1). Their previous meetings came in Acapulco in 2016-17.

On Pietrangeli, Wawrinka looks to even his record (1-2) against big-serving Isner, who has fired 53 aces in his first two wins. In the next match, No. 7 seed Kei Nishikori plays Juan Martin del Potro, who owns a 4-1 head-to-head record against the Japanese star. The Argentine is 0-4 against Top 10 opponents this season after going 6-4 last year. His last Top 10 win on clay came at 2012 Roland Garros (d. No. 7 Berdych in 4R, l. to No. 3 Federer in QFs).

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