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

Novak Djokovic will face Rafael Nadal in the quarter-final of the 2016 Italian Open after surviving an early scare against Thomaz Bellucci.

The world No. 1 was actually blanked by the Brazilian in the opening set before rallying to win, while Nadal also dropped the opener against Nick Kyrgios but recovered to go through.

Andy Murray also progressed after brushing aside Jeremy Chardy and will face David Goffin in the last eight after the Belgian shut out Tomas Berdych.

But Roger Federer's campaign came to an end at the last-16 stage thanks to Dominic Thiem, the notable upset on a day of shocks.

TIZIANA FABI/Getty Images

Austrian Thiem produced an excellent performance to win 7-6(2), 6-4 against Federer, who looked to be struggling slightly with injury. Thiem was clinical with his serve and groundstrokes, claiming victory in less than 80 minutes.

Federer soon had company for his shock exit in the form of countryman Stan Wawrinka, when Juan Monaco battled back from a set down to record another upset on the day.

In the women's draw, top seed Serena Williams had to work hard to topple fellow American Christina McHale but eventually came through her third-round clash, 7-6(7), 6-1.

Here are the latest results from the day's action at the Rome Masters, as well as the upcoming schedule. 

Men's Draw
Women's Draw
Result	Score
(13) Dominic Thiem bt. (3) Roger Federer	7-6(2), 6-4
(5) Rafael Nadal bt. Nick Kyrgios	6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4
(1) Novak Djokovic bt. Thomaz Bellucci	0-6, 6-3, 6-2
(6) Kei Nishikori bt. (11) Richard Gasquet	6-1, 6-4
Lucas Pouille bt. (9) David Ferrer	6-4, 6-1
12) David Goffin bt. (8) Tomas Berdych	6-0, 6-0
Juan Monaco bt. (4) Stan Wawrinka	6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4
(2) Andy Murray bt. Jeremy Chardy	6-0, 6-4
Result	Score
(1) Serena Williams bt. Christina McHale	7-6(7), 6-1
Barbora Strycova bt. Eugenie Bouchard	6-1, 6-0
(11) Timea Bacsinszky bt. (8) Carla Suarez Navarro	5-7, 7-5, 6-2
Madison Keys bt. Timea Babos	7-6(2), 6-3
(3) Garbine Muguruza bt. Jelena Ostapenko	6-1, 6-4
(9) Svetlana Kuznetsova bt. Daria Gavrilova	6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Irina-Camelia Begu bt. Daria Kasatkina	6-1, 6-4
Misaki Doi bt. Johanna Konta	4-6, 7-5, 6-2

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

Thursday Recap

Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images

Djokovic was stunned early after Bellucci took the first set without dropping a game. Live Tennis detailed how rare it is to see Djokovic blanked in tournament play:

"

First time since 2012 that #NovakDjokovic has been on the receiving end of a bagel set. pic.twitter.com/cOTfLNY4nM

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) May 12, 2016"

Meanwhile, Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times noted how Djokovic had previously responded to a bagel, even suggesting the Serb was facing an uphill battle to overcome one from the first set:

But a costly double fault in the second let Djokovic establish control for the first time. Keeping control meant holding serve, something Djokovic did to seal the second.

But Bellucci couldn't do the same at the start of the third. The break from Djokovic looked like a decisive turning point, yet Bellucci didn't give in easily.

Eventually, though, Djokovic cut down on his mistakes—he had 29 unforced errors in the match, per TennisTV—and served for the win.

Murray hardly wasted a minute in dismantling Frenchman Chardy. In fact, it took the Scot just 77 minutes to book his place in the last eight, according to BBC Sport's Piers Newbery.

Statistics relayed by TennisTV showed how Murray played a clean game, striking 19 winners and claiming five of 12 break points. By contrast, Chardy was guilty of 27 unforced errors:

Murray has earned the right to be confident headed into the last eight. Yet Goffin's stunning double bagel against Berdych won't have escaped his attention.

As Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times noted, Goffin had previously struggled mightily against top-10 opponents:

But while Murray set a blistering pace, Nadal was made to wait by Nick Kyrgios in a thrilling match that lasted nearly two hours and 40 minutes.

The latter took the opening set after a tiebreak, but Nadal battled back in the second. Live Tennis showed how the Kyrgios backhand gave Nadal problems, while the figures for points won to number of shots played indicate how many rallies took place: 

"

Match statistics, anybody?

Round of applause for @RafaelNadal and @NickKyrgios. That was simply phenomenal. pic.twitter.com/nQxHrqE6aI

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) May 12, 2016"

Earlier, Federer was under pressure from the off as he conceded break points in his first service game, but the Swiss legend produced consecutive aces to hold for 1-1.

The former world No. 1 then sealed a break of his own to go 3-2 ahead in the opener, using a stunning backhand down the line to set up the opportunity.

However, Thiem immediately broke back to level at 3-3 after an error-strewn service game from Federer.

The world No. 15 was making Federer work hard for every hold as he breezed through his own service games with relative ease. Thiem had the upper hand going into the first-set tiebreak.

He then claimed the first mini-break with a crushing crosscourt backhand and forced Federer wide to take full advantage.

Another excellent backhand from Thiem—this time down the line—sealed the first set for the Austrian in impressive fashion, per tennis writer Carole Bouchard:

Federer was far from his best and has been struggling in recent times with a back problem, but Thiem was clever in forcing his opponent to retreat deep behind the baseline.

After an exchange of holds in the second set, Thiem claimed a break for 3-2 after a brilliant return had put Federer on the back foot.

Federer was forced to dig in deep just to stretch out the match as Thiem forced opportunities to break at 4-2 and 5-3, but he eventually served out the match with ease to eject the 34-year-old from the Rome tournament. 

While Federer was left wondering how he'd been beaten, fellow Swiss Wawrinka, inconsistent on clay, was stunned by an outsider, per Rothenberg:

But Monaco wasn't the only shock winner on the day. Lucas Pouille caused a surprise when he sent Spaniard David Ferrer home early.

The win continued a strong streak against ranked opponents for Pouille recently and also created a scenario this tournament hasn't known in 11 years, per ATP Media Info:

In the women's event, Williams faced a tough task in getting past McHale as she went a break down in the first set at 3-2, but Serena tied things up again at 5-5 as the world No. 56 served for the opener.

In the ensuing tiebreak, Serena faced more terrific play from McHale, as well as a set point, but she came through after a mammoth effort, according to Rothenberg:

The second set was a much more routine affair as McHale slumped after her travails in the opener. Williams broke three times to see out the match in one hour and 41 minutes.