DOHA: Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open by beating Luca Nardi 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Spaniard let his guard down in the second set, when his Italian opponent fought back from trailing 1-4 to force a decider.
“My energy levels probably went down a little bit, but credit to him,” said the third-ranked Alcaraz, who will next face Jiri Lehecka.
Also Wednesday, second-seeded Alex de Minaur beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal match against fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev.
Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-1 and will meet Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final eight.
Jack Draper eliminated Christopher O'Connell 6-2, 6-1. He will next play Matteo Berrettini, who beat Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-4. Berrettini had ousted Novak Djokovic in the previous round.