Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies continued their hot streak on the European clay at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on Wednesday, when the all-German team ran out a 6-3, 6-3 winner over home wild cards Luca Nardi and Lorenzo Sonego.

The eighth seeds broke the Italians four times to complete a 77-minute second-round win at the ATP Masters 1000 event and reach the quarter-finals in the Italian capital for the first time. They will next face another Italian duo, Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, or Chilean-Croatian pair Julio Peralta and Franko Skugor.

Two-time Roland Garros champions Krawietz and Mies lifted their first tour-level title since October 2020 in Barcelona in April, and backed that triumph up a week later with another crown at their home tournament in Munich. Their first-round win over another Italian pair, Matteo Arnaldi and Francesco Passaro, was their first together in Rome, with the Germans having lost their only previous match at the Foro Italico in 2020.

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There was a big upset in the first-round action taking place on Wednesday as Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara defeated top-seeded pairing Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, 7-6(5), 6-3. Glasspool and Heliovaara saved all three break points they faced on the way to a successful debut in Rome, where singles stars Thanasi Kokkinakis and Frances Tiafoe await in the second round.

There were no such problems for Mutua Madrid Open champions Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, who moved to 31-7 for the season with an opening 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer. It is the third victory over Arevalo and Rojer this year for seventh-seeded Koolhof and Skupski, who also beat the El Salvadorian-Dutch duo at the Melbourne Summer Set in January and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in April.

In other opening-round matches, Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar sealed a 6-7(2), 6-3, 10-5 win to upset sixth seeds Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, while Houston champions Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell beat Nikoloz Basilashvili and Alexander Bublik, 6-4, 6-1.

Stefanos Tsitsipas saved two match points to complete a trilogy of recent wins against Grigor Dimitrov Wednesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. But his third victory over the Bulgarian in as many tournaments, by way of a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4) result, was by far the toughest of the trio.

“Incredible fight. I’m extremely happy I was able to overcome this obstacle,” Tsitsipas said post-match. “Grigor played really well, gave me a hard time on the court.

“Just so many emotions. The fact that I was able to process all of that and come back stronger in the third-set tie-break, it was such a great way to redeem myself after not being able to hold in that last game of the second set.”

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Tsitsipas served for what would have been his third consecutive straight-sets win in the rivalry but was broken at love as Dimitrov won four straight games and 16 of the set’s last 17 points to force a decider.

In the third, Dimitrov had a match point on return at 4-5 and 5-6. But Tsitsipas saved the first with a bold serve-and-volley play on second serve and the second with a big delivery to send it to a tie-break. After the Greek raced to a 5/0 lead, Dimitrov used a bunted backhand return winner to spark a comeback to 5/4, but Tsitsipas held his nerve on serve to advance to the last 16.

“It’s like playing in the Colosseum,” Tsitsipas said of the atmosphere on Grand Stand Arena. “There’s so much energy coming from the crowd. I think the people that came today to watch the match were so into it… It made for a great atmosphere and a great gladiator kind of environment on the court.”

At his best, the fourth seed used his forehand to open up the court and dictate patterns of play, frequently finishing points at net.

With his 28th victory of the year, Tsitsipas pulled level with 19-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz atop the season’s match-wins leaderboard. Tsitsipas has now won his past four matches against Dimitrov and five of their six career ATP Head2Head meetings.

A finalist at Roland Garros last year, Tsitsipas this week has moved ahead of Rafael Nadal into fourth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings because the Spaniard drops the 1,000 points he earned by winning last year’s title.

A Rome semi-finalist in 2014, Dimitrov slipped to 15-10 on the season. But the Bulgarian remains on track to reach 30 match wins this season for the first time since 2017, when he finished the year at No. 3. Earlier this month Dimitrov returned to the Top 20 for the first time in almost 12 months.

Tsitsipas next faces Karen Khachanov, a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 winner over 15th seed Pablo Carreno Busta earlier on Wednesday.

Rafael Nadal’s bid for an 11th crown at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia enjoyed a smooth start on Wednesday afternoon as the legendary Spaniard blunted the big-serving John Isner to seal a 6-3, 6-1 second-round win at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Nadal has been untouchable at the Foro Italico for much of his career and he immediately looked settled in his return games against Isner, countering the American’s huge serve with his trademark spinning groundstrokes. Although the unseeded Isner competed well, he struggled to recover any momentum after letting slip two break points at 3-3 in the opening set as Nadal dominated the second to move to a 69-7 match record in the Italian capital.

Nadal identified his hold in the seventh game of the first set as the key turning point in his eighth tour-level win over Isner. “I finished better than how I started, without a doubt,” said the Spaniard after the match. “The beginning of the match was not good for me.

“He had some chances on the return and had two break points. [He had] two not difficult balls so I was in his hands at that moment. I was lucky that he missed those shots and then I was able to break. Then the match changed, of course. With the first set on the board, and having the break in the first game of the second [set], everything changed.”

The win continued Nadal’s comeback to competitive action after he reached the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open last week following a six-week layoff due to a rib injury. Having lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in Spain, the win over Isner ensured Nadal has still never lost consecutive matches on clay, with Wednesday’s victory taking him to 44-0 in matches following a defeat on the surface.

An evenly matched opening set hinged on the seventh and eighth games, as Nadal saved two break points to hold before breaking the American for 5-3. He served out to clinch the set as Nadal began to up his level to the delight of a passionate Italian crowd.

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Nadal’s return game continued to look in good shape against former World No. 8 Isner, and the 36-time Masters 1000 champion broke the World No. 27 three times in the second set to complete a comfortable 76-minute victory. The win was built on relentless consistency from Nadal, who made just three unforced errors in the match.

“I just focussed on myself,” added Nadal when asked about his second-set improvement. “I focussed on trying to keep going. I knew I had to do things better than I had done, and I need to practise to try and do it better and better.”

The Spaniard next faces another North American star in the third round, 13th seed Denis Shapovalov. The pair met in a memorable semi-final in Rome last year, when Nadal saved two match points before prevailing over the Canadian in a deciding-set tie-break after three hours, 27 minutes.

“Last year was a joke, the match that I saved here against him,” said Nadal. “[I was] super lucky. I know how dangerous he is, I need to play well, of course. I need to play better than today, but after a while without being on court it is another victory and I have the chance again to play against one of the best players in the world.

“I need to build things again after a tough stoppage and that’s what I am trying now. I just need to stay with the right attitude, and let’s see if I am able to make that happen.”

Alexander Zverev was given no time to settle in his opening match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on Wednesday, but the second seed raised his game to fend off a strong challenge from the in-form Sebastian Baez at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

The German struggled to find the form that carried him to a 10th Masters 1000 championship match appearance at the Mutua Madrid Open last week, but he found a sufficient level to outlast Estoril champion Baez and clinch a 7-6(6), 6-3 in an intriguing second-round encounter at the Foro Italico.

“I’m [very pleased], especially coming from Madrid to here,” said Zverev after his 89-minute win over qualifier Baez. “It’s not always not easy because Madrid is at altitude and the balls are flying like crazy, but here everything is pretty slow. It wasn’t an easy match and I’m happy with the way I played at the end. He played three matches already here, it’s my first, so I’m happy with the win.”

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Despite a disappointing loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid final, the German looked back to his best at times in the Spanish capital after an inconsistent start to 2022 that has left the World No. 3 still hunting a first title of the year. He will hope to use the victory over Baez as a foundation for another deep run in Rome, where he claimed his maiden Masters 1000 title as a 20-year-old in 2017.

Although it was not the most fluent performance from Zverev, the World No.3’s ballstriking ability was vital in helping him overcome the stubborn Argentine. The German fired 28 winners to his opponent’s 19, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Baez came out with all the confidence of a man on a six-match winning streak. The World No. 37 won his first 21 points on serve as Zverev struggled to fire up his return game. The German was also solid behind his delivery, however, with neither player facing a break point in the first set. Despite letting a 6/2 lead slip in the tie-break, Zverev’s extra power proved the difference as he converted his fifth set point with an ace.

The second set looked to be playing out in a similar fashion as Baez continued to give little away behind his delivery, but Zverev belatedly put together a streak of top-quality returns to clinch the only break of the match in the eighth game. He served out without issue to improve his match record in Rome to 14-4.

Zverev was pleased with the way he recovered to seal the first set tie-break 8/6 after letting four set points slip. “At the end of the day I feel like I did nothing wrong,” said the German. “I got a little bit unlucky, made one unforced error with my overhead, but those are not easy shots either. In the end you have to fight until the very last moment, and the first set was [very important] for me.”

Zverev’s third-round opponent in Rome will be Alex de Minaur, after the Australian defeated Tommy Paul for the second time at a Masters 1000 event this year. De Minaur beat the No. 34-ranked American 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday to back up his straight-sets win over Paul at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March.

Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek are both defending their Internazionali BNL d’Italia titles this week in Rome, so it was fitting they chatted on the practice court Tuesday before beginning their runs.

It is not the first time they have met on the practice court. At Roland Garros last year, the pair enjoyed a quick hit at Roland Garros.

💭 Defending Champs chats 👀#IBI22 | #tennis | @iga_swiatek | @RafaelNadal pic.twitter.com/ar9eRU9lve

— Internazionali Bnl (@InteBNLdItalia) May 10, 2022

Swiatek has long spoken of her admiration for Nadal. Last week, the Polish star prepared for Rome by training at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar.

“For sure it was inspiring. You could see all the trophies, which is amazing. Seeing numbers on Wikipedia is one thing, but seeing all the trophies, how consistent he was sometimes in some tournaments, it’s amazing,” Swiatek said in her pre-tournament press conference. ”Actually I really like this museum. It was not only about Rafa and about tennis, but also about other sports. You could see there was Fernando Alonso Formula 1 where he won world championships.

“It was just interesting because you could see the sports, not only tennis, not only what Rafa did, so that’s nice.”

The WTA World No. 1 also had high praise for the recent efforts of Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev en route to capturing the Mutua Madrid Open title last week.

“I want to watch highlights for sure. I’m going to do that. I didn’t have time because [the] last couple of days have been really busy for me in terms of practising,” Swiatek said. “I’m going to do that for sure because what he’s doing is amazing. Wow, like winning against Rafa and Novak on the same tournament, just crazy.”

The second round continues Wednesday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, with 10 men’s singles matches on the schedule in Rome. Three of those matches will take place on Centre Court, with defending champion Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev in early action before an all-Italian evening showdown between Jannik Sinner and Fabio Fognini. Stefanos Tsitsipas is also on the slate and will face Grigor Dimitrov in Grand Stand Arena.

Doubles action will span the first and second rounds, with top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury set to open their week on Court 4.

View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule

[3] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. John Isner (USA)

Nadal has never lost consecutive matches on clay and puts his 43-0 record following defeat on the surface on the line against John Isner. The Spaniard is also 18-0 against Americans on clay, being pushed as far as a deciding set just twice.

But both of those deciders came against Isner, who extended Nadal to five sets at Roland Garros (2011) and three sets in Monte Carlo (2015). Nadal leads their ATP Head2Head 7-1, with Isner’s win coming at the 2017 Laver Cup. They also met in 2015 in Rome, a match Nadal won in straights, but have not played since Beijing in 2017.

A 10-time champion in Rome, Nadal is in his 800th week inside the Top 5, 17 years after first breaking through at that level in 2005. Isner is seeking his first win against a Top-5 player since he beat Marin Cilic and Alexander Zverev en route to the 2018 Miami title.

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After a three-set quarter-final loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid — his first tournament back after a six-week injury layoff — Nadal on Monday slipped one place to No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as he defends 1,000 points from his title run one year ago in Rome. He must better the Greek’s result this week to maintain his standing at No. 4 in next week’s Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“Madrid has been a positive week in different ways,” Nadal said of a challenging tournament in which he saved four match points against David Goffin to reach the quarters. “In other ways things could have been better. But I’m here to keep trying. It’s going to be another chance for me to play well, to compete again against the best players of the world.

“I’m excited. Rome is a very special place for me.”

[2] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Sebastian Baez (ARG)

Zverev seeks to back up his run to the Madrid final with another deep run in Rome, where he was champion in 2017. The five-time ATP Masters 1000 titlist — more than any active player outside of the Big 4 — begins his latest quest to add to that tally with his first meeting with Sebastian Baez. 

“It was the first Masters 1000 that I won, at just the age of 20, which was quite spectacular for me,” Zverev said ahead of his opening match. “From then on, my career kind of started. I was very happy at that moment, but now we’re here in 2022 and I hope I can repeat that.”

The World No. 3 has enjoyed a strong start to the year at the Masters 1000s, reaching the Miami quarter-finals and the Monte Carlo semis before picking up four wins in Madrid. 

Baez will be contesting his second match against a Top 10 opponent following a four-set loss to Tsitsipas in the Australian Open second round. The junior World No. 1 won his first ATP Tour title last month in Estoril and enters Rome at a career-high of No. 37 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings behind a 16-11 record on the season.

Flashback: Sebastian Baez with Alexander Zverev at the 2018 Nitto ATP Final, where he served as a hitting partner. Credit: Sebastian Baez 

[10] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. Fabio Fognini (ITA)

Both Italians impressed in the opening round, delighting the Rome crowd with all-action victories on Centre Court. Fognini denied Dominic Thiem the first win of his injury comeback on Monday evening, 6-4, 7-6(5), before Sinner fired 26 winners to get past Pedro Martinez on Tuesday night. 

They will again take the stadium court under the lights on Wednesday for their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“I got to know him a little bit more in Davis Cup,” Sinner said of Fognini. “He gave me many, many things, some energy, because it was not easy for me for the first time last year in Turin. For sure now it’s going to be tough for me, for him. It’s going to be a packed house. But I [will] just enjoy it. Hopefully it’s going to be a great match.

“I hope [the crowd support] will be equal. Because he made a lot of history, especially here. And I start now, so it’s a little bit another generation.”

Fognini is 20-12 against fellow Italians, including a 3-1 mark in Rome and a 17-5 record since July 2011. But Sinner is undefeated against his countrymen at 3-0, most recently beating Lorenzo Musetti in Antwerp last year.

Fognini will turn 35 in May and is more than 14 years Sinner’s senior. The veteran praised the 20-year-old following in his post-match comments Monday, calling his countryman “our future star on the ATP Tour”.

Best Of The Rest

Three men’s singles matches are set for Grand Stand Arena, including Tsitsipas vs. Dimitrov. The fourth-seeded Greek is 4-1 against Dimitrov, and can equal Alcaraz for the ATP Tour lead with his 28th win of the season. Tsitsipas has eliminated the World No. 20 Bulgarian in straight sets in each of the their past two tournaments, in Barcelona and Madrid.

Fifteenth seed Pablo Carreno Busta and Karen Khachanov will take the court before that match, with ninth seed Cameron Norrie and Marin Cilic closing play in Rome’s second stadium.

On Pietrangeli, Stan Wawrinka looks to build off his first win in 15 months against qualifier Laslo Djere, while 12th seed Diego Schwartzman faces lucky loser Marcos Giron.

In doubles action, Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury will take on a to-be-determined alternate team while Italian wild cards Luca Nardi and Lorenzo Sonego look to upset eighth seeds and recent Barcelona and Munch champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies of Germany.

Filip Krajinovic produced an inspired performance to upset Andrey Rublev at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Tuesday, nullifying the sixth seed’s powerful groundstrokes to surge to a 6-2, 6-4 win at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.

It was the fifth tour-level meeting between Rublev and Krajinovic, but the first on clay, and it was the Serbian who settled faster on Grand Stand Arena. The World No. 54 opened a 4-0 lead on his way to the opening set and took the second with a solitary break to record a 69-minute victory, sealing the deal in style with a sliced backhand drop shot that left Rublev with no chance.

The win moves Krajinovic 3-2 ahead in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series. Having beaten Frances Tiafoe in the first round on Sunday, the triumph over Rublev means Krajinovic equals his best previous performance in Rome, a third-round run in 2020. Tuesday’s victory over the World No. 7 was just the Serbian’s fourth over a Top 10 opponent in 27 attempts.

Krajinovic’s third-round opponent will be a home favourite, either Fabio Fognini or 10th seed Jannik Sinner.

Fifth seed Casper Ruud avoided an upset of his own when he eked out a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 win over Botic van de Zandschulp, avenging a recent straight-sets loss to the dangerous Dutchman in Munich. The Norwegian next will play the winner of David Goffin and Jenson Brooksby.

Ruud this week is looking to turn around a relatively modest clay-court swing, which had returned just four wins from four events heading into Rome. No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Ruud improved to 18-8 on the season after winning 61 per cent of points on his opponent’s serve.