ROME, Italy (AFP) — Daniil Medvedev continued his Rome title defense with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 7-5 win over qualifier Hamad Medjedovic as the men’s tournament was left wide open by big-name exits, the latest being fourth seed Andrey Rublev.

Russian Medvedev will face Tommy Paul in the Last 16 at the Foro Italico after battling past Next Gen champion Medjedovic in a grueling clash of big hitters.

The second seed has a great opportunity to win his first tournament of the year but will be drained by a match which pushed three hours in length and suggested that 20-year-old Medjedovic is a far superior player than his world ranking of 121.

“I’m not really pleased. I felt like I started the match well and then in a way it was only going downhill,” Medvedev said.

“I’m happy that by not playing my best I could win and tomorrow I’m going to try to find my best tennis.”

Rome is missing the world’s top three men following Novak Djokovic’s third-round elimination on Saturday, with Italian world No. 2 Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz both withdrawing ahead of the event.

And Russian Rublev, fresh from claiming the Madrid title, suffered a shock third-round defeat by French qualifier Alexandre Muller, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Sixth seed and reigning Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas is still in the fray after beating Briton Cameron Norrie in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) but is concerned at the impact of a punishing schedule on the top players.

“The extension of the days in the Masters 1000s I think plays a massive role and contributes a lot to the fact that these players are getting injured,” Tsitsipas told reporters.

Another contender is Rafael Nadal’s vanquisher and seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz, who faces Sebastian Baez on Tuesday and could be Medvedev’s quarterfinal opponent.

Elina Svitolina again refused to shake hands with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka after losing their first meeting since their row at the 2023 French Open.

Belarusian second seed Sabalenka came back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) to beat Ukrainian Svitolina, who following their quarterfinal at Roland Garros last year accused Sabalenka of inflaming tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war by insisting on a handshake that was not going to come.

Ukrainian players have refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian rivals in protest at the ongoing war and Svitolina again walked straight to her chair after the match.

Sabalenka will face world No. 10 Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals after squeezing past two-time Rome winner Svitolina in a brilliant match for those who stayed late in the center court stands.