Rublev, winner of his first Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo in mid-April, was stunned 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3 by the 101st player in the world, Germany's Yannick Hanfmann, from qualifying.
The day before, it was Carlos Alcaraz, who will nevertheless become world N.1 on Monday, who had been surprised in the second round of the Italian tournament by another player from the qualifications and ranked beyond the Top 100 (135th), the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.
Sinner lost to 31st-ranked Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-2. Since the start of the clay court season, the 21-year-old Italian had reached the semi-finals in Monte Carlo (beaten by Rune), then the quarter-finals in Barcelona (beaten by Musetti), before skipping Madrid.
Both Rublev and Sinner stayed around two and a half hours on the Roman courts on Tuesday, to no avail.
In the quarterfinals, Cerundolo will face Norwegian Casper Ruud, world No. 4, who seems to find some colors in the Italian capital, he who has just won three matches in a row for only the second time this season (five at best).
Hanfmann will challenge either world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev or former world No. 2 Alexander Zverev for his first Masters 22 quarter-final at the age of 1000. He is already guaranteed to jump to the gates of the top 31 in the next ATP ranking.
© 2023 AFP