Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2016: Thursday Tennis Scores, Results, Latest Schedule

After world No. 1 Novak Djokovic's shocking upset on Wednesday to Jiri Vesely, the rest of the top players at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters were surely on notice heading into the round of 16 on Thursday. 

Djokovic's loss seemed to serve as a cautionary tale, however, as the big names all survived and moved on to the quarterfinals. Below, we'll take a look back at Thursday's play and preview all of the action set for Friday.  

Thursday

Winner	Score	Loser
No. 2 Andy Murray	2-6, 7-5, 7-5	No. 16 Benoit Paire
No. 3 Roger Federer	6-2, 6-4	No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut
No. 4 Stan Wawrinka	6-1, 6-2	No. 15 Gilles Simon
No. 5 Rafael Nadal	7-5, 6-3	No. 12 Dominic Thiem
No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	6-4, 6-4	Lucas Pouille
No. 10 Milos Raonic	6-3, 4-6, 7-6	Damir Dzumhur
Marcel Granollers	7-6, 6-4	No. 11 David Goffin
No. 13 Gael Monfils	6-1, 6-2	Jiri Vesely

No. 2 Andy Murray, the top remaining seed in the tournament, managed to advance on Thursday, but he looked shaky doing so again, dropping the first set before winning consecutive sets with a 7-5 score to sneak past No. 16 Benoit Paire.

And he acknowledged he isn't playing the level of tennis he expects of himself.

"Hopefully I can start to play a little bit better," Murray said after the tight win, per BBC Sport. "Every win is important right now at the start of the clay season to get a feel for what is going well and what isn't."

He added, "[Paire] gave me an opportunity in the middle part of the second set when he started to make a few mistakes. It still wasn't my best match, but I fought as hard as I could right to the end and managed to get the win based on that."

It was a wild match overall, featuring 10 breaks of serve total (five apiece) and big swings in momentum. But Paire's 52 errors ultimately did him in.

"I panicked," Paire told BBC Sport. "It's the biggest disappointment of my career."

No. 3 Roger Federer, No. 4 Stan Wawrinka and No. 5 Rafael Nadal had far fewer issues advancing than Murray, all winning straight-set matches. Federer wasn't broken a single time in his dominant showing, while Wawrinka was broken just once and Nadal twice.

No. 12 Dominic Thiem, who created 17 break opportunities, pushed Nadal. But Nadal's bend-but-don't-break play prevailed.

No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was also never broken in a strong showing against Lucas Pouille, while No. 10 Milos Raonic became the sixth top-10 player to advance to the quarterfinals with a hard-fought victory over Damir Dzumhur.

Only No. 11 David Goffin suffered an upset on the day, losing to Marcel Granollers in straight sets.

Friday

Court	Time (ET)	Matchup
Court Rainier III	5 a.m.	No. 2 Andy Murray vs. No. 10 Milos Raonic
Court Rainier III	Following Murray-Raonic	No. 4 Stan Wawrinka vs. No. 5 Rafael Nadal
Court Rainier III	Following Wawrinka-Nadal	No. 3 Roger Federer vs. No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Court Rainier III	Following Federer-Tsonga	No. 13 Gael Monfils vs. Marcel Granollers

Peter Bodo of ESPN.com believes Federer is the favorite with Djokovic out of the running:

"

Federer might be the player who benefits the most from the stunning loss by Djokovic, who has been a tremendous dampening factor in Federer's otherwise remarkable late-career surge. Ever the cool professional, Federer, who played just his second match since undergoing knee surgery, looks as though he's more than ready to take advantage of Djokovic's absence.

"

Tsonga will test that, of course. But whereas Tsonga has never been able to crack the exclusive club of elite players in men's tennis, nobody can seem to kick Federer out of that club.

The match of the day will be Wawrinka taking on Nadal in a fascinating showcase of power vs. finesse. While Wawrinka smashed Gilles Simon on Wednesday, Nadal hasn't looked dominant to this point, though neither player has dropped a set either.

The two players are the only previous winners of this tournament remaining as well. Whereas Wawrinka has two wins on the season, however, Nadal has none and has reached just one final. Recent form suggests Wawrinka will advance. 

Murray probably should have lost on Thursday, and if he doesn't iron out the kinks in his game, he'll lose to Raonic on Friday. But Murray is resilient and mentally strong, and he has enough talent to squeak past Raonic even if he isn't at his best.

Finally, No. 13 Gael Monfils should be able to get past the underdog story of the tournament, Marcel Granollers, though Monfils has been prone to inconsistency in the past. 

Regardless, Friday will be full of fascinating matchups in Monte Carlo. 

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