Italian Open 2016: Tuesday Rome Masters Tennis Scores, Results, Latest Schedule

Serena Williams wasted little time in her first match of the 2016 Italian Open, beating Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam in two sets to advance to the next round of the Rome Masters. In her first clay match of the season, the World No. 1 won 6-4, 6-3.

Kei Nishikori avoided a major upset loss, recovering from an apparent illness in time to beat Viktor Troicki. The in-form clay specialist qualified for the next round with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 win. 

In the final match of the day, Stan Wawrinka had to battle hard to get past Benoit Paire, winning 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

Men's Draw
Women's Draw
(6) Kei Nishikori bt. Viktor Troicki	5-7, 6-2, 6-3
(8) Tomas Berdych bt. Albert Ramos-Vinolas	6-3, 6-4
(L) Lucas Pouille bt. (Q) Ernest Gulbis	3-6, 6-4, 7-5
Juan Monaco bt. (16) Kevin Anderson	3-6, 6-3, 6-2
(12) David Goffin bt. Jack Sock	6-4, 6-4
(Q) Stephane Robert bt. (Q) Aljaz Bedene	7-6 (3), 7-6 (8)
Nicolas Mahut bt. Pablo Cuevas	7-6 (6), 2-6, 7-5
Philipp Kohlschreiber bt. (Q) Inigo Cervantes	6-4, 6-2
(9) David Ferrer bt. (Q) Filippo Volandri	4-6, 7-5, 6-1
(15) Roberto Bautista Agut bt (W) Paolo Lorenzi	6-3, 6-1
Jeremy Chardy bt. (Q) Damir Dzumhur	2-6, 6-4, 6-2
(4) Stan Wawrinka bt. Benoit Paire	5-7, 6-2, 6-1
(9) Svetlana Kuznetsova bt. Caroline Garcia	7-5, 6-4
Samantha Stosur bt. (Q) Alison Riske	4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
(1) Serena Williams bt. Anna-Lena Friedsam	6-4, 6-3
(8) Carla Suarez Navarro bt. Teliana Pereira	6-1, 7-5
(Q) Christina McHale bt. (W) Claudia Giovine	6-1, 2-6, 6-2
Daria Gavrilova bt. Sabine Lisicki	6-1, 7-6 (3)
(Q) Mariana Duque-Marino bt. Monica Niculescu	6-4, 6-1
Johanna Konta bt. (Q) Johanna Larsson	6-1, 6-2
Lesia Tsurenko bt. (Q) Julia Gorges	1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3
(11) Timea Bacsinszky bt. Yanina Wickmayer	6-2, 6-2
Jelena Ostapenko bt.Kristina Mladenovic	6-3, 6-1
Timea Babos bt. (Q) Kiki Bertens	6-1, 6-4
Eugenie Bouchard bt. Jelena Jankovic	6-4, 2-6, 6-3

To access the full schedule for this year’s Italian Open, click here.

Recap

As shared by the New York Times’ Ben Rothenberg, Williams hadn’t played on clay since last year’s French Open:

The World No. 1 showed few signs of rustiness, but she didn’t seem all comfortable with the slower surface in the opening set. On serve, Williams controlled the tempo of the match quite easily, but in the rallies, Friedsam was able to keep pace.

Williams wasn’t particularly sharp in the return game, either, but she needed just one break to take the lead in the first set, and without wasting too much energy, she cruised past Friedsam, via the WTA’s official Twitter account:

The second set played out in similar fashion. Friedsam took more risks with her first serve but couldn’t find an answer for Williams’ attack. And while the favourite did double-fault twice, Williams played well enough to avoid major mistakes and use her raw power to win the rallies.

Once again, a single break was enough for Williams, who faced three break points herself but stepped up her game when she had to. It was hardly a vintage performance, but Williams is still working her way to her best form ahead of Roland Garros, and Tuesday's performance was encouraging.

Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images

An in-form Nishikori faced some major setbacks in his second-round matchup with Troicki, dropping the first set and calling for a doctor before recovering in time.

The Japanese star appeared to struggle with his breathing during the first set and looked shaky in both the return game and the exchanges. He was always a step too late on the defensive end and couldn’t put any pressure on Troicki’s serves.

The underdog didn’t face a single break point in the opening set, and as shared by Live Tennis, Nishikori appeared to be in real trouble between sets:

"

Doctor on court for #Nishikori, who trails Troicki 5-7. pic.twitter.com/Grfm52l1Hc

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) May 10, 2016"

But a controversial call early in the second set completely swung the momentum. An out call came seemingly before Troicki hit the ball, but the point was given to his opponent, regardless.

As shared by TennisTV, it made a real impact on Troicki:

The Serb lost focus and would serve below 47 percent on his first serve the rest of the set—compared to 75 percent in the first—and Nishikori took full advantage, stepping onto the court with more aggression and avoiding a ton of rallies by hitting winners.

He continued his fine play in the third set, controlling his own serve games and doing just enough to inch past Troicki. The 26-year-old had to dig deep to win and was visibly exhausted as he came off the court, however, an ominous sign for the rest of the tournament.

Per the ATP's official website, Nishikori was still happy with his form:

"

After the first set I tried to step in a little more, and I think in the first set I wasn't aggressive enough to keep him moving side to side. I think in the second and third sets, I started hitting much better backhands, started playing angles, down the line, and everything worked well after first set... Tennis-wise I'm happy with what I'm doing. I think I'm serving well, returning well.

"

Wawrinka looked shaky at best in the first set of his win over good friend Paire, hitting two double-faults and struggling in the return game. The Roland Garros champion dominated the rallies the rest of the way, however, booking his spot in the next round.

Tomas Berdych faced eight break points against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, but he kept his composure and powered his way through the Spaniard to a quick two-set win. David Ferrer needed three sets to get past Filippo Volandri, and Philipp Kohlschriber set up a match with Rafael Nadal by beating Inigo Cervantes.

Match stats via ATPWorldTour.com.