Daria Gavrilova’s Italian Open campaign is over after the Australian fell to former world No.1 Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-4.
Gavrilova got off to a slow start after her late-finishing win over Garbine Muguruza and trained 5-1 in the opener before saving three set points to pull a game back but five-time major winner Sharapova soon regained the ascendancy.
Sharapova will face French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, defending champion Elina Svitolina continued her title defence after battling back from a set down to beat Daria Kasatkina.
Ukraine’s world No.4 secured a 0-6 6-3 6-2 victory in a hard-fought contest to reach the quarter-finals.
Svitolina struggled to find her rhythm in the opening set, which she conceded in just 21 minutes to the Russian 21-year-old.
The 23-year-old from Odessa had her confidence boosted in the second set with an early break before winning four straight games on her way to evening the scores and forcing a decider.
Svitolina, who won five tour titles in 2017, continued her resurgent run in the final set as she commanded the rallies on her way to an impressive comeback win.
Angelique Kerber will be Svitolina’s opponent in the last eight after the German former world No.1 dispatched Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-1 6-1.
Top-ranked Simona Halep will likely maintain her status after she entered the quarter-finals without hitting a ball.
Her opponent Madison Keys withdrew from their match earlier in the morning due to a right rib injury.
Halep, runner-up last year in Rome, will next play Sloane Stephens or Caroline Garcia.
Ostapenko secured a 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Britain’s Johanna Konta to book her place.
It was Konta who set the early pace as she claimed 31 points with just three errors to collect the first set in 34 minutes.
It was a complete role reversal in the second set as Ostapenko, who will begin the defence of her French Open title later this month, became more aggressive and achieved more positive results as she wrapped up the match on an accurate and powerful serve.
