Tsitsipas and Zverev through to Monte Carlo quarters

Holder Stefanos Tsitsipas moved into the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals with a 7-5 7-6 victory over Laslo Djere on Thursday while fourth-seed Casper Ruud was knocked out in straight sets by Grigor Dimitrov.

Tsitsipas broke only once in a match where break points were in short supply but the Greek third seed pounced when it mattered most at the end of both sets to seal victory.

The opening set went with serve but Djere was nearly broken when he was 5-4 down after he made three double faults. Djere held on but Tsitsipas switched gears and broke him in his next service game when the Serbian fired wide on set point.

The second set was nearly identical to the first with just one break point between the two. This time Djere forced a tiebreak, but Tsitsipas was unstoppable as he took the first five points before sealing the match with a forehand winner.

"I knew that I was going to have to be alert and 100 per cent, he's someone that can compete very well on clay. I really had to work hard for this win," Tsitsipas said in an on-court interview.

"The beginning of the tiebreak was very important to get such a good, dynamic start. I was able to dictate those rallies and really get ahead of the game early on."

Diego Schwartzman stole the show on the day, however, after the Argentine fought back from a set down to beat Lorenzo Musetti 2-6 6-4 6-3, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd after the two and a half hour contest.

Schwartzman was 3-1 down in the second set when he found a second wind and stormed back into the contest, winning 11 of the next 15 games to book a quarter-final clash with Tsitsipas.

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Second seed Alexander Zverev fired eight aces and