Russian star Daniil Medvedev cruised into the quarterfinals of the Italian Open on Tuesday night, dominating Thiago Tirante in the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. The world No. 9 showcased his class in a one-sided match, requiring little time to dispatch his opponent.
In a stunning upset elsewhere, Luciano Darderi saved four match points to defeat second-seeded Alexander Zverev. The Italian trailed 3-5 in the second set before clawing back, saving all four match points in the tiebreak, and then dominating the final set to spark wild celebrations in Rome.
Luciano, 24, reached the quarterfinals of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career, also recording his first-ever win against a top-10 opponent. Reflecting on his thrilling victory, Darderi told ATP’s official website: “It was a very tough match. At the start I was not feeling very good physically. At 3-5 in the second set, I was done. I think I had a small chance in the second set when I held for 4-5 and then the tie-break was a lot of pressure for him and me. It is not easy to play here because I am a bit nervous, but it was really nice. It was a good fight mentally from me.”
He added: “I won because of the crowd. You cannot give up here. The crowd helped me a lot and it is a dream to be in the quarter-finals. It is the tournament of my life.”
Luciano became the first player other than Jannik Sinner to beat Zverev at a Masters 1000 event since Shanghai last October. His next challenge in the quarterfinals will be 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, who is the first teenager to reach the Rome quarterfinals since Novak Djokovic in 2007.
