Novak Djokovic cruised into the quarterfinals of the Italian Open on Thursday, defeating Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-2. At the same time, Iga Swiatek maintained her quest for a sixth consecutive event triumph by defeating Victoria Azarenka.
Chasing his sixth championship in Rome, Djokovic beat his Swiss opponent in one hour and 16 minutes without extending and will now play Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals.
Wawrinka, who beat Reilly Opelka in the first round for the first time in 15 months, was no match for top seed Djokovic and showed little fight apart from a few spectacular passing strokes.
The 37-year-old, currently ranked 361 globally, has won two of his three Grand Slam championships by defeating Djokovic in the finals but has already lost 20 of their 26-lifetime matches.
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“It’s beautiful to see Stan again… You can tell that he’s still not where he wants to be physically, but he’s still Stan Wawrinka. If you give him time, he can damage you, “After the match, Djokovic stated.
“On that score, I believe I performed well. I pushed him all around the court and kept my serve in good shape.”
Djokovic felt under pressure when Wawrinka broke his serve in game six of the second set.
However, he failed to take advantage, double-faulting at a breakpoint in the next game, giving Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, a chance to serve for the match, which he took.
In the semi-finals, Djokovic might meet Rafael Nadal, the third seed, with the King of Clay scheduled to face Denis Shapovalov of Canada on centre court.
Swiatek ‘wins in a nasty way.’
Despite a rough start, world number one Swiatek won her 25th match in a row, beating Azarenka 6-4, 6-1.
Swiatek, 20, is the early favourite for the French Open, which begins later this month. He proved it against Azarenka, a former top-ranked player and two-time Australian Open champion.
However, after dropping the opening three games of the match, she fought through a series of challenging games until ultimately breaking Azarenka’s determination early in the deciding second set.
“Everyone could tell that I didn’t get off to a good start. I’m incredibly pleased with how I responded and progressed in the first set, “Swiatek said to reporters.
“I’m pleased that I could win the first set in an unattractive manner and then improve in the second. It assures me that I can still win matches even if my game isn’t perfect. As a result, it works both ways.”
Zverev, the early bird,
After both make it to the quarter-finals of the men’s event, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas might meet in the semi-finals.
World number three Zverev defeated Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) in the early match on centre court to set up a last-eight meeting with Cristian Garin, who defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
In his run to the Madrid final last week, the German grumbled about usually playing late into the night, and he has been assigned two early matches in the Italian city so far.
“I’d rather play at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) than 1 a.m. (2300 GMT). That is something I believe any athlete would say. Something in the middle, I think, would be ideal, “Zverev said to reporters.
Tsitsipas had to work harder for his 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory against Karen Khachanov, the past winner of the Paris Masters.
Tsitsipas will face local star Jannik Sinner in the last eight; the only Italian left in the men’s draw after he defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 7-6 (8/6).
