China's Zhang Zhizhen advanced to the fourth round of the ATP Rome Open after a convincing 6-2, 6-4 win over American Ben Shelton, on Sunday.

Zhang managed to save two break points and had four unforced errors compared to Shelton's 15, as he dispatched the 12th seed in 71 minutes.

Ranked 56th globally, Zhang is set to face Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro next. Monteiro progressed after a closely contested match against Serbia's 31st seed, Miomir Kecmanovic, winning 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 [6].

Zhang's showing in Rome so far marks an improvement for the 27-year-old, who faced first-round exits in his previous two clay tournaments in Barcelona and Madrid.

Number 3 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany had a better day than Shelton. Zverev smashed 12 aces and advanced past Italy's Luciano Darderi 7-6 [3], 6-2.

Also moving to the fourth round of the clay-court event was eighth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, who defeated qualifier Terence Atmane of France 7-6 [3], 6-3 in one hour, 44 minutes. Dimitrov will be making his fourth appearance in the fourth round but first since 2020.

Next up for Dimitrov will be 11th-seeded Taylor Fritz, who knocked out 24th-seeded Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4 in an All-American clash. (Xinhua/AFP)