Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine run of form by reaching the Qatar Open quarter-final, having edged past Luca Nardi in an entertaining clash.
Alcaraz won the Rotterdam Open in his first event since the Australian Open, where he suffered a quarter-final exit.
Former world number one Alcaraz is now focusing on the Qatar Open, where he has beaten both Nardi and Marin Cilic.
The top seed beat the Croatian in straight sets in round one, but was given a scare by the Italian in round two.
After easing to a 6-1 first-set win, Alcaraz was leading 4-1 in the second set and cruising to victory, only to lose 4-6.
Luca Nardi wishes Carlos Alcaraz luck after their Qatar Open match
But the Spaniard regained his composure to take the third set 6-3 and set up a quarter-final meeting with Jiri Lehecka.
Nardi has remained upbeat despite the defeat, with the 21-year-old writing on Instagram: “It’s been a pleasure to share the court with a friend and champion like you. Great battle, great memories! Good luck for the next one.”
Alcaraz was quick to respond, with his comment translating from Spanish: “Great Lukita, for more matches on the tour!”
World number three Alcaraz also shared a post of his own after the match, writing on Instagram: “Very happy to keep moving forward in Doha!”
Carlos Alcaraz says Luca Nardi played like the world number one
Alcaraz has a superb chance to close the gap on world number one Jannik Sinner in the coming months, with the Italian currently suspended.
Having twice tested positive for clostebol in 2024, Sinner has accepted a three-month ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Alcaraz does, however, also need to make it past Alexander Zverev, who is into the quarter-finals of the Rio Open.
But the Spaniard will simply be taking things one match at a time, with Alcaraz grateful to have made it past a tricky test against Nardi.
Asked on court what happened when he was 6-1, 4-1 up, he responded: “Well I think I played a good game.
“I mean he just played better at the end, you know? 4-1, 40-40, he played a few good points and then it seemed like he started to play like the number one in the world.
“I felt like I couldn’t do anything. I tried just to stay there as much as I can, stay strong mentally, but he just started to play really good tennis.
“Probably my energy levels got down a little bit, but credit to him as well, from 4-1 in the second set. But just really happy to forget everything and restart everything in the third set.”
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