Novak Djokovic eases past Stan Wawrinka to reach 16th straight Italian Open quarter-finals, faces Felix Auger-Aliassime

Novak Djokovic cruised past Stan Wawrinka in their first meeting since 2019 to reach the quarter-finals of the Italian Open for the 16th year in a row. The world No. 1 proved too strong for Wawrinka, who was playing only his second ATP tournament of the season after a year-long absence due to a foot injury.

Ad/> Djokovic broke twice in the first set and three more times in the second set to win 6-2 6-2. He will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime and needs just one more win in Rome to guarantee he will be world No. 1 heading into the French Open, which starts on May 22.

Roland-GarrosWill Djokovic be top seed for French Open? Where will Nadal, Alcaraz be seeded?7 HOURS AGO «It’s great to see Stan back, he won two matches, tough two matches, he is still physically not where he wants to be but nevertheless he’s Stan Wawrinka and he can hurt you if you give him time,» said Djokovic. «I managed to do well from the beginning, I moved him around the court and hold my serve pretty comfortably except for the loss of serve in the second set. Pretty much a very good performance.

Wawrinka had won his previous two matches against Djokovic, including in the 2016 US Open final, and memorably won when they met in the French Open final in 2015. Exclusive: Life begins at 30 for 'positive' Pliskova Will Djokovic be French Open top seed? Swiatek beats Azarenka for 25th straight win However, this time around he was no match for the world No. 1, who seems to be hitting form ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year and now leads the head to head 20-6.

Djokovic was in control from the start as he broke in the opening game of the match. World No. 361 Wawrinka, bidding to become the lowest-ranked player to beat a world No.