The Internazionali BNL d'Italia delivered a day of stunning upsets on Saturday, with two of the tournament's top seeds crashing out in the Round of 64. World No. 3 Novak Djokovic was the biggest casualty, falling to Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic in a three-set thriller. Prizmic, who had to battle through qualifying, showed remarkable composure to defeat the Serbian star 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Second seed Alexander Zverev also suffered a surprise exit at the hands of his compatriot Daniel Altmaier. The German No. 2 was unable to find his rhythm, losing in straight sets 5-7, 3-6. The results leave a significant gap at the top of the men's draw, opening the door for other contenders to make a deep run in Rome.
Elsewhere in the men's draw, there were comfortable victories for several seeds. Casper Ruud (seed 23) cruised past Zachary Svajda 6-1, 6-3, while Tommy Paul (seed 16) dispatched Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 6-2. Karen Khachanov (seed 13) also progressed with a solid 6-4, 6-4 win over Alexander Shevchenko. However, sixth seed Alex de Minaur was another high-profile casualty, losing to Italian wildcard Matteo Arnaldi in three sets.
The women's draw saw its own share of drama, with top seeds advancing but not without a fight. Fourth seed Iga Swiatek was pushed to three sets by Catherine McNally before prevailing 1-6, 7-6, 3-6. Naomi Osaka (seed 15) also had to dig deep, overcoming Eva Lys 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Jessica Pegula (seed 5) had a more straightforward path, defeating Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-0.
There were also notable wins for Elina Svitolina (seed 7), who beat Noemi Basiletti 6-1, 6-3, and Madison Keys (seed 17), who came from behind to defeat Peyton Stearns 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. In a significant upset, qualifier Anastasia Potapova knocked out 11th seed Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-2.
Beyond Rome, action continued at the Istanbul Open, where top seed Donna Vekic advanced to the semifinals with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory over Mia Ristic. At the Jiangxi Open, Chinese players Zhuoxuan Bai and Xiaodi You both secured quarterfinal victories. The ATP Challenger circuit also provided entertainment, with Gustavo Heide and Mark Lajal among the winners at their respective events in Francavilla Al Mare and Wuxi.
Based on reporting from SkySports | News.