World number one Novak Djokovic swept into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in front of spectators who were allowed to watch in the Foro Italico for the first time.

The five-time Rome champion won through 6-2, 6-1 in 1hr 10min against the 48th-ranked Spaniard with the venue filled to 25% of capacity.

“It was not good, it was great. I missed the crowd,” said the 33-year-old Serb.

“It was nice to see them back.”

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After losing his opening service game, Djokovic powered back with five breaks of serve, outclassing his rival, despite a late fightback, to seal the win on his sixth match point.

“He started well, but I managed to break back straight away and establish the control and consistency.

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“I thought I played at least 20-30 % better than on Monday.”

The 18-time Grand Slam winner next plays either Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or ninth seed Matteo Berrettini for a place in the semi-final.