Jack Draper and Carlos Alcaraz clash in a doozy of an Italian Open quarter-final as the British No 1 looks to take the next step on clay with a statement win.

Champion Alexander Zverev and world number one Aryna Sabalenka fell by the wayside in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Wednesday, while Carlos Alcaraz beat Briton's Jack Draper 6-4 6-4 to reach the last four for the first time at the claycourt event.

Carlos Alcaraz is feeling good about his tennis after striding into the semi-finals of the Italian Open on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jack Draper, which he called one of his best displays of the season so far.

Draper is up into the top five of the world rankings and is producing the best clay-court form of his career, having reached the final in Madrid last week. The 23-year-old had to battle back from a set down to beat Corentin Moutet in the last-16 yesterday,

But he turned up at the Foro Italico nine hours before his third-round match and was immediately questioned by Alexander Zverev, who wanted to know why Alcaraz had arrived so early. And the Spaniard had a hilarious explanation, showing where his priorities lay.