Rublev cruises past familiar foe Davidovich Fokina, revenant Basilashvili next
Andrey Rublev (No 12) brushed past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (No 21) 6-4, 6-4 at the Foro Italico to become the first man into the Rome round of 16.
Andrey Rublev, Rome 2026 | © PsNewz
Andrey Rublev, the No. 12 seed, became the first man into the round of 16 at the Rome ATP Masters 1000 on Monday, defeating Spanish No. 21 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 6-4 in a third-round match he controlled from 2-2 in the opening set. He reaches the Rome round of 16 for the third time in his career, after 2021 and 2023.
After an early exchange of breaks, the Russian found his rhythm and never let his opponent back into the contest. Rublev converted three of his four break-point chances. When the pressure came back on his serve, Rublev held firm, saving three of the four break points he faced. The first delivery was the foundation – 88% of points won behind it – and it left Davidovich Fokina with almost nothing to attack (57M of Ast serve conversion only).
The win earns Rublev back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 victories for the first time this season and takes him into his first round of 16 at this level since Paris Masters last year. The 28-year-old also ended a 0-9 run against top-30 opponents stretching back to last summer’s Cincinnati third round, where he beat then-No. 19 Alexei Popyrin.
The Spaniard, beaten for the sixth time in seven career meetings, is now Rublev’s joint-most-frequent victim in the head-to-head era — tied with Damir Dzumhur, Fabio Fognini and Stefanos Tsitsipas on six wins. Only Félix Auger-Aliassime, against whom Rublev leads 7-2, has lost more often to the Russian.
Rublev will face qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili in the round of 16. The Georgian defeated a second seed in two rounds, No.30 Brandon Nakashima (7-6(5) 6-4) to reach his first Masters 1000 round of 16 since 2021!
Rome Masters 2026 — Round of 16
Sinner (1) vs Popyrin
Tiafoe (20) vs Pellegrino (Q)
Rublev (12) vs Davidovich Fokina (21) : 6-4, 6-4
Nakashima (30) vs Basilashvili (Q)
Navone vs Medjedovic
Landaluce (LL) vs Bellucci : 6-4, 6-3
Cobolli (10) vs Tirante
Llamas Ruiz (Q) vs Medvedev (7)
Musetti (8) d. Cerundolo F. (25) 7-6(7), 6-4
Ruud (23) d. Lehecka (11) 6-3, 6-4
Khachanov (13) d. Van de Zandschulp 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Prizmic (Q) d. Humbert (31) 6-1, 7-5
Jodar (32) d. Arnaldi (WC) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Tien (19) d. Bublik (9) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
Darderi (18) d. Paul (16) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Zverev (2) d. Blockx 6-1, 6-4
