Brisbane International 2017: Wednesday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule

World No. 1 Angelique Kerber needed three sets to get the better of a determined Ashleigh Barty on Wednesday at the 2017 Brisbane International.

After losing the opening set, Barty, ranked 271st in the world, came roaring back to take the second in front of a passionate home crowd. However, the German's quality shone through in the decider, as she saw out a narrow 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory.

In the men's draw, second seed Stanislas Wawrinka didn't have things his own way against Viktor Troicki, although he eventually came through in straight sets. Meanwhile, third-seed Kei Nishikori recovered after losing the opening stanza to beat Jared Donaldson.

Here are the results in full from Wednesday's action, the order of play for Thursday and a recap of the best bits of another brilliant day in Brisbane.

Men's Singles	Score
Women's Singles	Score
(2) Stan Wawrinka bt. Viktor Troicki	7-6 (5), 6-4
(3) Kei Nishikori bt. Jared Donaldson	4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Kyle Edmund bt. (6) Lucas Pouille	6-3, 3-1 (Ret)
Jordan Thompson bt. (8) David Ferrer	4-6, 7-5, 7-5
(1) Angelique Kerber bt. Ashleigh Barty	6-3, 2-6, 6-3
(2) Dominika Cibulkova bt. Shuai Zhang	2-6, 6-4, 6-4
(5) Svetlana Kuznetsova bt. Destanee Aiava	6-4, 6-3
(8) Roberta Vinci bt. Misaki Doi	6-4, 6-2

Pat Rafter Arena
Show Court 1
Alize Cornet	vs.	(2) Dominika Cibulkova
(5) Svetlana Kuznetsova	vs.	(4) Garbine Muguruza
(1) Milos Raonic	vs.	Diego Schwartzman
(1) Angelique Kerber	vs.	(6) Elina Svitolina
Mischa Zverev	vs.	(5) Rafael Nadal
Nicolas Mahut	vs.	Grigor Dimitrov
(4) Dominic Thiem	vs.	Sam Groth
Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut	vs.	Thanasi Kokkinakis & Jordan Thompson
(3) Karolina Pliskova	vs.	(8) Roberta Vinci

Provisional order of play courtesy of the event's official website.

Wednesday Recap

Sitting 270 places below Kerber in the WTA world rankings, Barty was always going to be the underdog in this clash with the German, although she wasn't fazed by the challenge early on, breaking her opponent at the first opportunity.

But the world No. 1 was quick to respond, levelling things up at 2-2 before turning the screw. By the end of the first set, which Kerber won 6-3, the chasm in quality between the two players was beginning to show, per the WTA Twitter feed:

Barty was assured at the beginning of the second set, though, and played the best tennis of her life in a devastating spell.

Again she broke Kerber early on, although this time she kept up the pressure, and before the end of the set, she took another game on her illustrious opponent's serve. A 6-2 set win was a measure of her dominance, and suddenly, the top seed was dragged into a contest.

As we can see, the Aussie was taking the game to Kerber:

"

This brilliant forehand has put World No.271 @ashbar96 5-1 up against Kerber!

Is there any way back in the second set for the top seed? pic.twitter.com/NiCaApH3xf

— WTA (@WTA) January 4, 2017"

A determined Kerber looked a lot more like herself early in the deciding set, breaking early on to take a 2-0 lead. It was the boost she needed to take the game away from the Aussie in the final set, as Barty started to show small signs that she was feeling the pace.

Kerber triumphed 6-3 in the decider, although Barty received a standing ovation from those in attendance; on this evidence, she will be moving up the rankings very quickly indeed.

Elsewhere, second-seed Dominika Cibulkova was given a scare in her clash against Zhang Shuai, as she was blown away in a lopsided first set. The Slovakian was jolted into life by that early setback, though, eventually recovering to win in three sets.

In the men's draw, Wawrinka was far from his best in his Round 2 match, although he had enough to win in two sets against Troicki.

Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The U.S. Open champion looked to be on his way to losing the first set when the Serb grabbed a break and then had the chance to serve it out at 5-4. However, Wawrinka dug in to level and force a tiebreak that he eventually won 7-5.

In the second set, Wawrinka again struggled to break down a determined Troicki, although he was again more decisive in vital moments; the Serb had to save two break-points at 3-3 before Wawrinka broke to move 5-4 ahead. From there, the Swiss confidently saw it out.

As we can see here courtesy of the event's official Twitter feed, the Swiss had a bit of fun with the crowd after the match:

Nishikori is another big name who looked rusty in Brisbane, as he took a long time to warm up against Donaldson.

The Japanese was out of sorts to begin with, especially on serve, with the American winning the opener 6-4 and setting up a possible upset. However, Nishikori started to slowly find his rhythm and was relatively comfortable in the following stanzas to ensure he progressed.

SAEED KHAN/Getty Images

The biggest surprise in the men's draw came courtesy of 22-year-old Australian Jordan Thompson, though, as he upset eighth-seed David Ferrer in three sets to delight the Brisbane crowd.

Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt paid tribute to his compatriot's efforts:

Thompson needed five match points to get over the line, eventually getting the win after a mammoth point. Afterward, the world No. 79 outlined how deep he had to dig.

"I was feeling pretty good until the last rally," he said, per the event's official website. "I don't know how many balls the last rally was, but yeah, definitely felt (the body) after that rally. It's impossible to wear down [Ferrer]."