Italian Open 2016: Wednesday Rome Masters Tennis Results and Updated Schedule

Rafael Nadal joined defending champion Novak Djokovic in booking a place in the third round of the 2016 Italian Open in Rome.

Djokovic had to dig deep to beat Stephane Robert 7-5, 7-5, while Nadal waited until the evening before seeing off Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets on Wednesday.

It was a day when the big names held sway, with Roger Federer also reaching the last 16 after an efficient 6-3, 7-5 victory over 19-year-old Alexander Zverev, the former world No. 1 showing his trademark variation and touch to beat the German youngster in just under 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, world No. 3 Andy Murray opened his Rome Masters campaign with a hard-fought 6-3, 6-3 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin just three days on from his Madrid Open final defeat to Djokovic.

Here are the results and upcoming schedule for the day's Italian Open action:

Men's Draw
Women's Draw
Result	Score
(3) Roger Federer bt. Alexander Zverev	6-3, 7-5
(1) Novak Djokovic bt. Stephane Robert	7-5, 7-5
(5) Rafael Nadal bt. Philipp Kohlschreiber	6-3, 6-3
(13) Dominic Thiem bt. Joao Sousa	6-3, 6-2
(2) Andy Murray bt. Mikhail Kukushkin	6-3, 6-3
(9) David Ferrer bt. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez	6-4, 6-3
(11) Richard Gasquet bt. Andreas Seppi	6-3, 6-4
Nick Kyrgios bt. (10) Milos Raonic	7-6(5), 6-3
Thomaz Bellucci bt. Nicolas Mahut	6-4, 6-3
Jeremy Chardy bt. (15) Roberto Bautista Agut	7-6(6), 6-4
Result	Score
Johanna Konta bt. (7) Roberta Vinci	6-0, 6-4
Madison Keys bt. (5) Petra Kvitova	6-3, 6-4
(3) Garbine Muguruza bt. Ekaterina Makarova	6-1, 6-0
Daria Gavrilova bt. (6) Simona Halep	6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Irina-Camelia Begu bt. (4) Victoria Azarenka	6-3, 6-2
Eugenie Bouchard bt. (2) Angelique Kerber	6-1, 5-7, 7-5
Timea Babos bt. (12) Venus Williams	6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4
Barbora Strycova bt. Heather Watson	6-4, 6-2
Christina Mchale bt. (13) Ana Ivanovic	6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1
(9) Svetlana Kuznetsova bt. Sam Stosur	6-4, 6-4
Misaki Doi bt. (10) Lucie Safarova	6-3, 7-5
Jelena Ostapenko bt. Monica Puig	6-1, 6-1
(11) Timea Bacsinszky bt. Lesia Tsurenko	6-2, 6-4
Daria Kasatkina bt. Mariana Duque-Marino	6-2, 6-2

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

Wednesday Recap 

Nadal needed to hold both his nerve and serve down 15-30 with things tied at a game apiece in the opening set. He duly obliged to mark the third-straight hold of serve by both players to start the match.

Later in the set, Nadal broke the Kohlschreiber serve with the aid of this terrific shot to take a two-game lead, per Tennis TV:

But Kohlschreiber battled back valiantly after dropping the first set. As Live Tennis noted, the German leaned on his own return game to keep himself in it:

"

Kohlschreiber throws caution to the winds, attacks & gets back on serve after a clean return winner. 3-3. pic.twitter.com/JeuoF0HI6J

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) May 11, 2016"

Yet, that was the last game Kohlschreiber claimed.

Nadal's controlled display has set up a third-round meeting with Nick Kyrgios, after the latter took down Canadian Milos Raonic. It marked another success for the Australian against a top seed, according to the ATP's official site:

It was never likely to be easy for Serbian Djokovic against 35-year-old Robert, and so it proved as the Frenchman used all his experience to cause the world No. 1 some problems.

The top seed did not look very comfortable on court early on and offered his opponent a number of chances to get his nose in front.

While Robert could not take them he held his own serve effectively and at 5-5 in the opener a tiebreak seemed inevitable.

However, following a hold for 6-5, Djokovic proved just why he is the best player in the world as he claimed the first break of the match at the key moment to take the opening set, per Live Tennis:

"

#Djokovic edges the 1st set 7-5. Not entirely happy out there. Watch & bet on tennis at https://t.co/txueA5D56r pic.twitter.com/zIUbq545e6

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) May 11, 2016"

Djokovic did not kick on from there, though, and Robert was the one to take advantage in the second set, breaking to go 2-1 ahead with a crushing forehand.

The Frenchman looked to force Djokovic into submission as he went for a number of big shots, but the Serbian responded in kind and gave a huge roar as he broke back for 4-4.

It was far from perfect tennis from Djokovic, but as with the first set, he forced another break-point opportunity at 6-5 ahead and forced Robert long to seal the victory.

The World No. 1 must now prepare for Brazilian Thomaz Belluci. The South American beat Nicholas Mahut in straight sets, but it would be the upset of the tournament if he sent even an apparently off-key Djokovic packing.

Murray made a measured start to his clash with Kazakhstani Kukushkin, feeling his opponent out with some excellent serving and beautifully timed drop shots.

Kukushkin made the Scot work for every point and the opening exchanges were lengthy, per TennisTV:

However, after swapping numerous service holds, Murray broke for 5-3 and served out the set in efficient fashion.

Indeed, the Brit's serve was his most potent weapon during the match as he gave up only two break points—saving them both—and got 68 per cent of his first serves in play, per ATP World Tour.

Murray forced a break-point opportunity on Kukushkin's serve in the third game of the second set and took it well as he forced his opponent wide.

At 5-3 up in the second set, Murray forced another break point and this time Kukushkin netted to hand Murray a well-earned victory, per tennis analyst Mark Petchey:

The Scot now awaits Jeremy Chardy after the Frenchman beat Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets.

BBC Sport's Piers Newbery confirmed Murray's third-round schedule, but offered an ominous warning about the weather in the Italian capital:

There had been concerns ahead of the tournament that Federer may have to withdraw because of an ongoing back injury, per the Guardian's Kevin Mitchell.

However, the Swiss legend made it out on court for his second-round match against Zverev, and he looked in good shape from the off, per TennisTV:

An early break gave Federer the initiative in the match as he looked to take advantage of his young opponent's weak second serve.

Zverev could barely win a point on the Federer serve, let alone force a break point, and a series of rapid-fire holds from the world No. 2 saw him seal the opening set in less than half an hour.

TennisTV provided the statistics from the first set:

The second set was a much more competitive affair. Again Federer got the early break, but Zverev then upped a gear and showed some impressive skills to earn his first break point, which he duly took for 2-2.

The two players then exchanged six holds of serve, Federer's coming in clinical fashion, while Zverev had to dig very deep and showed good defence to keep a foothold in the set, per the New York Times' Christopher Clarey:

It looked as though the second set might go to a tiebreak, but Federer then forced three break points at 5-5 as he looked to earn the chance to serve for the set.

Zverev did brilliantly to save all three, moving well at the baseline and at the net, but he finally crumbled under the pressure as Federer claimed the break at the fourth time of asking, and the veteran served out the match in efficient fashion to ease through to the next round.

Barring the injury concerns, Austria's Dominic Thiem awaits Federer in the third round. He was impressive during a straight-set win over Joao Sousa, and may sense a perfect opportunity to upset a wounded Federer.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

There were also wins on the day for Richard Gasquet, whose dubious reward is a third-round meeting with Kei Nishikori. Meanwhile, David Ferrer looked good beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on his way through.

But of the big guns, Nadal and Murray reaffirmed they will provide Djokovic with a very strong challenge for his title. The defending champ will need to look sharper in Round 3.