Novak Djokovic said his rivalries with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray had helped him become stronger in the face of adversity, after the Serb battled his way into the last 16 of the Italian Open.

The 35-year-old was a set and a break up in Sunday’s match with Grigor Dimitrov but was then dragged into a decider, where he raised his level again to close out a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win after more than two hours.

“In my career, I managed to win more matches than I lost when I was facing difficult circumstances,” Djokovic said. “For a few years, whenever I needed to make that final step or win a grand slam, I didn’t manage to do that, so I learned a lot.

“I got stronger because of the rivalries, particularly with Federer, Nadal and Murray,” he added.

Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray are dubbed the ‘Big Four’ as they won a combined 67 grand slam titles.

Alcaraz stunned

Carlo Alcaraz’s 12-match winning streak came to an unexpected end when he was beaten by 135th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Monday.

Among the women, Iga Swiatek dished out another “bagel” as she defeated Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-0 victory. The Polish top seed earlier mowed down former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0, 6-0.