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Despite tension with the Briton after the top seed was struck by a smash, Novak Djokovic easily defeated Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday to go to the Italian Open quarterfinals.
In each of his previous 16 outings in the Italian city, the Serb has advanced to the round of eight, and he accomplished so once more on Tuesday when he defeated Norrie on center court to set up a matchup with Holger Rune.
It will be a replay of the Paris Masters final from a year ago when the young Dane defeated Djokovic in an exciting encounter to win his maiden Masters 1000 championship.
"Even though he's really young, I have a good understanding of his game. He's been on the circuit for a while now and has been playing some fantastic tennis, especially over the past, say, six to eight months," according to Djokovic.
"He's in excellent shape, and I'm ready for the challenge. It seems like it will be a really physical contest."
In Rome, Djokovic is attempting to win a seventh clay-court championship, and the unexpected elimination of Carlos Alcaraz on Monday has helped his prospects a little bit.
On May 22, Alcaraz, who won two straight events in Barcelona and Madrid, will overtake Djokovic as the world's top player, but the 22-time Grand Slam winner may enter Roland Garros with yet another victory.
Without having to play at his best, Djokovic defeated Norrie in the opening three games and easily took the first set.
The 35-year-old then broke to make it 2-1 in the second set, but Norrie broke back the following game while upsetting Djokovic with a smash that struck the back of his left knee.
Djokovic had given up on the point and was heading back to the service line, giving Norrie the whole court to put the ball away.
When the Briton moved to 3-2, Norrie lifted his hand to apologize, but Djokovic gave him another lengthy, beady-eyed look as he passed him at the changeover.
And after Djokovic converted on his second match point to secure victory, he quickly shook Norrie's hand at the net without making eye contact or speaking to the defeated opponent.
In a subsequent interview, Djokovic said that he had been annoyed by Norrie's actions on the court from the beginning of the match since they were "things that we players know in the locker room it's not fair play."
To be honest, I don't understand this type of mentality on the court since he's a really kind man off the court. However, it is what it is. He started the fire, and I responded to that,” said Djokovic.
"I'm not just going to bow my head for someone acting like this. That will get a response from me.
"That is all there is. We disregard what takes place on the court and carry on.
In a third-round match that was postponed on Monday owing to rain, fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6 (7/3); he will now play another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, in the round of 16 on Tuesday night.
When Iga Swiatek takes on Donna Vekic, she will look to build on her impressive tournament start.
The seeds two through six were all eliminated, which helped world number one Swiatek, who has won 13 straight matches in Rome, in her quest for a third title in as many years.
