Wimbledon defending champion Carlos Alcaraz had a difficult start to his match against unseeded Australian Aleksandar Vukic but managed to prevail 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 6-2 on Wednesday.
Vukic, 28, was in fine form to upset the Spaniard, having beaten the 17-year-old in Roland Garros qualifying four years ago.
The Spanish defending champion was broken twice by world number 69 Vukic after serving for the first set.
But it was not to be repeated, as Alcaraz managed to come back to force a tie-break, which he dominated, and never looked back.
“I’m really happy with my performance today,” he said. “The first set was the key for me. He served for the set and then I played a really good tie-break.
“I played at a very high level in the second and third rounds, so I’m really happy about that.”
Alcaraz took a 4-2 lead thanks to a Vukic error on an overhead smash at the net, but the Spaniard gave his opponent back the advantage three games later and was broken again in the first set.
He recovered to force a tie-break, where he took a comfortable 5-1 lead, but allowed Vukic to win three consecutive points before raising his level again and taking the set as the Spanish fans breathed a sigh of relief on Court One.
The Roland-Garros champion, in search of a fourth Grand Slam title, did not leave any other opportunities for Vukic and quickly closed the second set before easily winning the third.
The 21-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion’s next opponent will be American Frances Tiafoe.
“I’m rooting for him,” he added. “We played a very good match at the US Open. I know he’s a very talented player, a tough guy, even tougher on grass with his style.”
“It will be a very difficult match for me. I am ready to take on this challenge, to put on a show and, I hope, to beat him.”
Alcaraz remains on course for semi-final clash with world No. 1 Jannik the Fishermanwho won a thrilling four-set battle against fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini.
The top seed put on a show to beat the 2021 runner-up 7-6 (3) 7-6 (4) 2-6 7-6 (4) in a high-profile encounter that concluded under the Centre Court roof shortly after 10.30pm.
While Berrettini showed flashes of his brilliance with 28 aces and 65 winners, Sinner’s class and growing maturity shone through as he impressively negotiated a three-hour and 42-minute encounter to advance to the last 32.
The sinner will face the Serb Miomir Kecmanovic In the third round, he came from two sets to one down to beat 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, 4-6 7-6(7) 1-6 6-2 6-3.
American Christopher Eubanks, who reached the quarter-finals last year, suffered a 6-4 6-4 6-2 defeat to the Frenchman. Quentin Halys.
Norwegian Casper Ruud, eighth seed and two-time Roland Garros finalist, was eliminated 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (7-1), 6-3 by the 37-year-old Italian. Fabio Fognini.
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