Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2017: Wednesday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule

Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych all won at the 2017 Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Wednesday. Top-seed Murray was pushed hard by Austrian Gerald Melzer early on but overcame some trying moments to eventually win in straight sets.

Djokovic made much easier work of his match with unseeded Horacio Zeballos. The Argentinian couldn't stay with an in-form Djokovic, who dropped just seven games en route to a straight-sets win.

Things were much tougher for Berdych, who was hammered in the second set by the Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely. A 6-1 defeat spurred third-seed Berdych to win the deciding set by the same margin.

Here are the results from Wednesday's matches:

Player	Score	Player
Fernando Verdasco	6-1, 7-6(6)	(4) David Goffin
(2) Novak Djokovic	6-3, 6-4	Horacio Zeballos
(1) Andy Murray	7-6(6), 7-5	Gerald Melzer
Dustin Brown	1-6, 3-6	(5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Nicolas Almagro	7-6(5), 7-6(6)	(7) Philipp Kohlschreiber
(3) Tomas Berdych	7-6(5), 1-6, 6-1	Jiri Vesely
(6) Ivo Karlovic	7-6(3), 7-6(3)	Karen Khachanov
(Q) Radek Stepanek	6-3, 6-2	(WC) Arthur De Greef

For a look at Thursday's full schedule, visit the ATP World Tour official website.

Recap

Murray eventually won a close tiebreak to pip Melzer to the first set. However, the world No. 1 found himself 2-1 down to start the second.

Murray soon won eight points in a row with the set tied at three apiece to move two games ahead. Needing to break serve, the Scot couldn't claim a break point to progress.

To compound matters, Murray then failed to hold serve, allowing Melzer to push the match one game short of needing another tiebreak.

Murray regained his focus, though, and made sure there would be no need to prolong the set or the match. The top seed had served 10 aces but struggled to break Melzer's serve as the Austrian saved five of seven break points.

KARIM JAAFAR/Getty Images

Murray will know he needs to play better, starting with the quarter-final clash against Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. The latter reached the last eight after upsetting seventh-seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.

While Murray has made steady progress, Djokovic has been in commanding form at Doha. The Serb is playing like a man keen to regain top spot in the world rankings from Murray.

He served notice of his intent by sweeping Zeballos aside with the minimum of fuss. On the rare occasions Zeballos was able to trouble Djokovic, it was often due to his outlandish array of drop shots.

Those shots kept Djokovic guessing, but the Serb usually had the answers. He made the most of two break points to keep the pressure on his less-decorated opponent.

ATP Media Info confirmed how dominant Djokovic has been at this Open. The same source also noted how history makes Djokovic a strong favourite for his quarter-final match:

Radek Stepanek has already made some history of his own just by qualifying for the last eight, per ATP Media Info:

The veteran saw off Belgian Arthur De Greef in straight sets. Stepanek was commanding in both, particularly the second, where he dropped just two games.

It wasn't plain sailing for Berdych against Vesely, though. The former needed to win a tiebreaker to claim the first set.

Berdych was virtually missing in action during the second but rallied superbly to boss the third. The third seed at the tournament overwhelmed Vesely with 13 aces from as many service games.

The upset of the day came when Spaniard Fernando Verdasco beat the fourth seed, David Goffin. Verdasco relied on rescuing break points to progress.

KARIM JAAFAR/Getty Images

He saved "12 of 14 break points in a 6-1, 7-6(6) victory over one hour and 42 minutes," according to the ATP World Tour official website. Verdasco will now face Ivo Karlovic after the sixth seed beat Russian Karen Khachanov in straight sets, despite needing to survive a tiebreak in both.

The evening's final match saw mercurial Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat German Dustin Brown in under an hour. Tsonga took the first set emphatically, winning 6-1.

The 31-year-old then produced some deft shots at the net to help hold serve. A testing backhand set up an overhand smash to put Tsonga 4-2 ahead. His advantage stretched to 6-3 to put Tsonga into the next round.

The big players are making it through, but there have been enough upsets during the first two rounds to make Murray, Djokovic and Co. wary.

All scoring information per the ATP World Tour official website.