Alexander Zverev easily defeated qualifier Vilius Gaubas to go to the round of 16, continuing his defense of the Italian Open title.

Zverev easily defeated Gaubas on center court, winning 6-4, 6-0, to advance to the round of 16 and face Arthur Fils of France.

The world number two required one hour and twenty-six minutes to defeat Gaubas, indicating that he may be over the burnout he claimed to be experiencing earlier in the year.

Zverev is expecting that a strong defense of his Rome title will position him to win the French Open and surpass his performance from the previous year.

However, Fils, who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, will be a far more difficult test for him than Gaubas.

“It was a little challenging for me at first, and it was really windy,” Zverev remarked.

“After the first set, the wind really subsided, and it became easier for me to establish a rhythm and use clean strokes.”

With Fils’ victory and world number 83 Corentin Moutet startling Holger Rune 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) on the gorgeous Pietrangeli court to win his first-ever match against a top-10 player, the day was favorable for French players in the men’s competition.

Fils defeated Tsitsipas, a past Rome finalist, in a thrilling encounter that concluded with the two of them fighting over the net.

After the Greek unintentionally struck his opponent with a shot in the seventh game of the second set, causing a post-match altercation that prompted the umpire to get up from his chair, Tsitsipas became irate with Fils for disregarding his apology.

After defeating Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-1, Daniil Medvedev will take on local favorite Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-3 after Sabalenka on center court.

In the final game of the day, Carlos Alcaraz will take center court to play Laslo Djere in an attempt to win his first Rome title.