Italian Open 2018: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal Advance to Round of 16

Novak Djokovic eased past Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets to reach the round of 16 of the 2018 Italian Open on Wednesday.

The Serb won 6-4, 6-2 in Rome, while local favourite Fabio Fognini upset Dominic Thiem in front of a partisan crowd. 

Rafael Nadal swept aside Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-0, while in the women's draw, top seed Simona Halep beat Naomi Osaka by the same scoreline.

Maria Sakkari upset sixth seed Karolina Pliskova in three sets with an impressive comeback, and Johanna Konta overcame Su-Wei Hsieh 6-0, 6-4.

Here are some of the select scores from Wednesday's action in Italy:

Select Men's Scores

(11) Novak Djokovic def. Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-4, 6-2

(1) Rafael Nadal def. Damir Dzumhur, 6-1, 6-0

Fabio Fognini def. (6) Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3

Select Women's Scores

(1) Simona Halep def. Naomi Osaka, 6-1, 6-0

Maria Sakkari def. (6) Karolina Pliskova, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

(7) Caroline Garcia def. Timea Babos, 6-3, 6-4

For all of the results and the complete schedule, visit the Italian Open's official website.

Djokovic was seeking back-to-back wins for just the third time this season, and it was initially close between himself and Basilashvili.

The Serb's forehand was particularly loose, and he had to fend off a pair of break points before he was able to grab a break of his own in the first set.

He carried that momentum into the second, which would ultimately prove more straightforward.

As for Nadal, he simply had too much power for Dzumhur, per Tennis TV:

The Spaniard's record in the Italian Open—which he has won no fewer than seven times—now stands at a remarkable 52-6.

A strong start for Fognini saw him take the opening set 6-4 before Thiem rallied well in the second as the Italian narrowly avoided a bagel.

Both players produced some exceptional tennis in the decider:

There was also frustration on both sides at times as Fognini kicked his racket early in the third after a miss, but the Austrian took his a step further, smashing his racket in the final game before netting a return to hand his opponent the win.

Osaka had every reason to be confident heading into her clash with Halep after beating her 6-3, 6-0 at Indian Wells in March, but on this occasion, she collapsed after a wasteful start.

Four break points went begging for Osaka in the opening exchanges before the world No. 1 rattled off 11 games in succession.