Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2016: Wednesday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule

Novak Djokovic blazed a trail past Fernando Verdasco on Wednesday to seal his place in the quarter-finals of the 2016 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he'll be joined by Rafael Nadal.

The Serbian defeated Verdasco 6-2, 6-2 to once again make it to the last eight in Doha, the same stage at which he fell out of the 2015 competition. Leonardo Mayer will be his quarter-final opponent after he beat Pablo Andujar 6-2, 6-4 earlier in the day to make it past the second round.

Nadal sauntered past Dutchman Robin Haase with a 6-3, 6-2 victory and will meet Andrey Kuznetsov in the final eight after the latter saw off the threat of Ricardas Berankis. 

That was before No. 3 seed Tomas Berdych smashed through Damir Dzumhur 6-0, 6-4, and Britain's Kyle Edmund finished the day by coming back from a set down to edge Daniel Munoz de la Nava 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3).

We provide a breakdown of Wednesday's results, along with match recap and a look to Thursday's schedule.

Player 1	Score	Player 2
Jeremy Chardy	6-2, 6-4	Paul-Henri Mathieu
Leonardo Mayer	6-2, 6-4	Pablo Andujar
Illya Marchenko	6-4, 6-2	Teymuraz Gabashvili
Novak Djokovic	6-2, 6-2	Fernando Verdasco
Andrey Kuznetsov	7-6(6), 6-1	Ricardas Berankis
Rafael Nadal	6-3, 6-2	Robin Haase
Kyle Edmund	5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3)	Daniel Munoz de la Nava
Tomas Berdych	6-0, 6-4	Damir Dzumhur

The 2016 Qatar ExxonMobil Open schedule can be seen in full on the official ATP World Tour website.

Wednesday Recap

Just as he did prior to last year's quarter-final exit at the ExxonMobil Open, Djokovic kept up his relentless form in a straight-sets win over Verdasco, where the Spanish contender rarely looked like causing a stir.

The No. 1 seed failed to drop serve throughout the clash, and it was only in the second set that Verdasco came close to unsettling Djokovic's stride. Even then, it was only for brief glimpses.

Ivo Karlovic's serve proved to be the Serbian's undoing in last year's competition, but Verdasco hardly posed the same threat from the baseline, as Djokovic clinched a third successive win over the Spaniard.

Sports Illustrated summarised just how swift Djokovic's Wednesday win was:

Nadal went through some sticky patches against compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round, but Wednesday's win over Haase made for a much more confident account of his abilities.

The second seed was even more convincing in his return game than he was early on in the three-set clash against Carreno Busta, and Tennis TV highlighted improved consistency as a telling factor opposite Haase:

Trailing 3-2 in the second set, Haase looked as though he might have been capable of turning the tide, but it was at this point that Nadal found his stride, winning three games in succession to see out the match.

Kuznetsov followed that trend by finishing strongly against Berankis, and after a tense tie-break win in the first set of their meeting, the Russian fired home with a 6-1 demolition in the second. Nadal beat his upcoming opponent in France last year and told the ATP World Tour he's hoping to replicate that display in 2016:

"

I played at a very high level against a good opponent today. My serve was a little bit worse than yesterday, but in general I am happy with the victory and my level of tennis. I hit my returns with a lot of confidence. Kuznetsov is an aggressive player. I played against him at Roland Garros a couple of years ago, and he made some great shots. I hope I’ll be able to play at the same level as today.

"

Berdych won 29 percent of all the first-serve return points he played in the first-round match against Sergiy Stakhovsky, per the official ATP World Tour website, but his defence was in even stronger form against Dzumhur.

In fact, after closing the Bosnian out 6-0 in the first set, it was admirable to see Dzumhur continue fighting at 3-0 down in the second set, per tennis writer Chris Goldsmith:

But fight the underdog did, and Dzumhur was rewarded for his efforts, managing to break Berdych twice, as he brought the scoreline to within a single game at 5-4 down. The 10th game didn't smile favourably on him, however, and Berdych finally made the last push across the line to seal a straight-sets win.

Last up on Wednesday's agenda was 20-year-old Edmund, who had British fans the world over on their edges of their seats as he squeaked past Munoz. BBC Sport's David Law confirmed this as the first time the starlet has ever made an ATP quarter-final:

"

New ground for Kyle Edmund. Reached quarterfinals of an ATP World Tour event for the first time. Won final set tie break 7-3. Faces Berdych.

— DavidLaw (@DavidLawTennis) January 6, 2016"

After claiming the scalp of world No. 43 Martin Clizan in his previous outing, Wednesday's three-set thriller was another fine showing from the Briton, who displayed terrific calm to see out a tie-break win.

Mayer also saw off a Spanish adversary in Doha, and Andujar fell by the wayside in similar fashion after Mayer also walked away from his collision with a pristine service record.

Francois Mori/Associated Press

The tournament's No. 8 seed timed his second-set surge with aplomb, as he raced to the finish line after leading 5-4, breaking Andujar in the 10th game to tie up a quick victory before the test of Djokovic.

Jeremy Chardy and Illya Marchenko will also meet in the quarter-finals after they each defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu and Teymuraz Gabashvili, respectively.

Chardy took out his French compatriot after Mathieu launched a late revival attempt in the second set, but it was ultimately a long, overhit return attempt that saw his tournament come to an end, per beIN Sports:

Gabashvili impressed in his first-round comeback against Simone Bolelli, but the Russian fell to Marchenko 6-4, 6-2 in a matchup that saw his eastern European rival only get better as the clash wore on.

According to the official ATP website, it's been eight years since Chardy and Marchenko last faced off in a tour meeting, and it was the Frenchman who emerged with the win in that sole fixture at the 2007 Marseille Open.