With straight set victories, defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and second seed Alexander Zverev advanced to the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.

In the clay court tournament, Tsitsipas defeated Serbian Laslo Djere 7-5, 7-6 (7/1) and second seed Zverev defeated Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 7-5.

Tsitsipas, the world number five, will face Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals after the Argentine 12th seed beat Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

“I had to put in a very good performance,” said Tsitsipas, who lost in five sets to Novak Djokovic in the French Open final last year.

“Laslo did not hand me victory, but I tried to stay 100 percent focused.

“The tie break was pivotal and I am delighted to have produced that level of tennis,” added the 23-year-old Greek.

Zverev, the world number three, will face Italian ninth seed Jannik Sinner, who overcame fifth seed Andrey Rublev, last year’s runner-up, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, despite a burned foot.

“For the second clay-court match of the season, I can’t complain too much,” second seed Zverev said.

“Yes, I have lost focus a little bit in the second set, but at the end of the day, he’s somebody that can really play. I’m happy with a two-set win.”

Zverev promptly lost his service, but he converted five of his 14 break points to advance to the Monte Carlo quarterfinals for the second time in his sixth visit.

“It’s great because here it’s a little bit slower I think than other clay courts that we play on, it is very important to get that confidence going on your serve,” Zverev said.

“All around, it’s important to get these kinds of wins.”

Blister trouble

Despite a foot blister that prompted him to withdraw in his Miami quarter-final flaring up, Zverev’s next opponent Sinner grabbed control of the tie with a winning run of six straight games in the second set.

In the second set, the 20-year-old had his right toe redressed, but he countered his opponent’s 31 unforced errors with 40 wins, compared to 19 for Rublev.

After two hours and 20 minutes, he won with his eighth break of serve.

Taylor Fritz, the defending Indian Wells winner, defeated Sebastian Korda, the previous round’s victor over recent Miami champion Carlos Alcaraz, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.

“It’s crazy really, I have reached the quarter-finals in four of the last five Masters tournaments,” said the 13th-ranked Fritz.

“If I had been luckier in Miami I could have been five from five. I am in a good place at the moment. I seem to be improving all the time.”

Fritz’s next opponent will be Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the Spaniard who defeated world number one Novak Djokovic on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Davidovich Fokina advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating seasoned Belgian David Goffin 6-4, 6-1.

“I carried the emotion of beating Djokovic into this match,” said Davidovich Fokina.