Italian Open: Defending champion Daniil Medvedev crashes out to Tommy Paul

Paul, the world number 16, did not look back after breaking Medvedev in his first three service games to prevail 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 13 minutes and reach the quarter-finals of the clay-court event.

Medvedev's defeat left third seed Alexander Zverev, number five in the world, as the highest-ranked player left in the event. The German beat Nuno Borges 6-2 7-5.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Tabilo, the surprise conqueror of Novak Djokovic, continued his fine run with a 7-6 (5) 7-6 (10) win over 16th seed Karen Khachanov.

The Chilean will now play China's rising star Zhang Zhizhen, who saw off Thiago Monteiro 7-6 (4) 6-3.

Sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas eased into the last eight with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Alex de Minaur.

Taylor Fritz beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 7-6 (11) 6-1 while Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz and Nicolas Jarry, another Chilean, also went through.

In the women's event, world number one Iga Swiatek, bidding to win the tournament for a third time in four years, comfortably beat Madison Keys 6-1 6-3 to reach the last four.

The Pole will face third seed Coco Gauff in the semi-finals after the American overcame Zheng Qinwen 7-6 6-1.