Alcaraz beats Draper at Italian Open, Gauff overpowers Andreeva

Third seed Carlos Alcaraz overcame a nervy start to beat Briton Jack Draper 6-4 6-4 on Wednesday and reach the Italian Open semi-finals for the first time.

Four-times Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who is gearing up to defend the French Open title later this month, fired off 24 winners in a strong performance to seal victory.

"The most important thing that I did today was not thinking about the results at all. Not thinking about if I was up, if I was down. Just trying to do the things that make me happy," Alcaraz said.

"On court, just trying to play aggressive, hitting good shots, drop shots, go to the net... I played with such a high rhythm during the whole match.

"I didn't let him dominate or stay long in the rallies. So I think that was a really good weapon today for me. I'm just really proud about the way that I approached the match."

The Spaniard looked slightly edgy at the beginning and a double fault at an inopportune moment left him trailing 4-2, but he quickly levelled the first set and used his drop shot intelligently to gain the upper hand.

The second set also began in chaotic fashion with a break apiece, but Alcaraz recovered and dug deep to defend two breakpoints for a hold, before breaking to love and taking a 5-4 lead with a wonderfully disguised drop shot.

The 22-year-old will next face either defending champion Alexander Zverev or home hero Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals.

Earlier on Wednesday, Norwegian Casper Ruud beat Jaume Munar 6-3 6-4 to set up a quarter-final meeting with world number one Jannik Sinner.

GAUFF BEATS ANDREEVA

In the women's singles, world number three Coco Gauff quelled the challenge of seventh seed Mirra Andreeva with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory to enter the semi-finals for a second successive