WATCH the Italian Open LIVE in Australia on beIN SPORTS | Subscribe here and take advantage of our 7-day FREE TRIAL

The seventh-seeded Australian was too strong for the Bolivian lucky loser in the first match of the day's play.

Elsewhere Jakub Mensik downed Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 7-6(2), converting three of six break points he earned and then produced a solid second-set tie-break to seal an 89-minute triumph.

With his 12th Masters 1000 match win of 2025, Miami champion Mensik jumped two spots to No. 19 in the ATP live rankings. He is well-placed to crack the Top 20 in the 52-week ATP rankings for the first time after Rome, where he has become the first Czech man to reach the Round of 16 since Tomas Berdych in 2017.

“It just feels great. I was kind of finding myself in my first match, and in the first set of this match,” Mensik said. “In the second set I was feeling a little bit better.

"I was struggling [a bit], so I’m glad that the main thing in the match was that I stayed focused, I stayed calm. I was trusting that I would find a way. Fabian is a great champion, and he is playing very well, especially here in Rome, so I knew it was going to be a tough one.”

Mensik was particularly pleased with the way he responded to being broken when serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set. He also let slip a match point on return in the next game, but composed himself in the tie-break to clinch his straight-sets win.

“In the first set I lost my serve in the first game, but then I broke him in the game after,” Marozsan said. “Every time it’s super tough in the set to stay with your serve. Unfortunately it came when it was 5-3 for me [in the second set], but it is what it is. I didn’t have any chance in that game, so I thought OK, ‘I am set up and there is a tie-break [to play]’. I just stayed focused and I’m glad I got the W after the second set.”

With victory in his maiden clash against Marozsan, Mensik also solidified his position in seventh in the ATP live Race To Turin as he chases a debut appearance at the ATP Finals. The big-serving Czech, who is 19-8 for the season, will take on 30th seed Hubert Hurkacz for a Rome quarter-final spot after the Pole defeated Marcos Giron 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.

Meanwhile De Minaur's next opponent, Paul, notched a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 victory against Tomas Machac, his first win in three tour-level meetings with the Czech.

The Australian leads the American 5-0 head-to-head, although they have not faced off since the 2023 season.