Nadal and Djokovic powered into the third round of the Italian Open but Austrian Dominic Thiem fell at the first hurdle
ROME — Former winners Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic powered into the third round of the Italian Open in Rome on Wednesday but Austrian Dominic Thiem fell at the first hurdle.
Sixth seed Thiem crashed out just a week after inflicting a first clay-court defeat on Nadal in over a year in Madrid which cost the Spaniard the world number one ranking. The 24-year-old destroyed his racket in fury as he suffered his first defeat to Italian Fabio Fognini in three meetings, sinking 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 at the Foro Italico.
Nadal later eased through 6-1, 6-0 against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur as he targets an eighth Rome title and first since 2013.
“After a loss in Madrid, it’s important to come back strong. And that’s what I did today,” said Nadal, who received a first-round bye.
The 31-year-old, who claimed the 11th titles of his career at both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, took the first set in 34 minutes, coasting to victory in just an hour.
The 16-time Grand Slam winner next takes on either Canadian Denis Shapovalov, 19, or Robin Haase of the Netherlands. “Today was a positive day. I don’t know how many mistakes I did, but not much,” said Nadal.
Djokovic, a four-time winner, is on the comeback trail three months after elbow surgery and eased past Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2. The Serbia will next play Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinolas who needed three sets to get past American eighth seed John Isner 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5). The Serbian, finalist in the last two editions in Rome, won the five previous matches against Ramos Vinolas.
Fognini, ranked 21, next plays Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk before a possible quarterfinal showdown with top seed Nadal. “If you compare it to Madrid there were a lot of close matches I could have lost there too. I did have chances,” said Thiem.
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov also suffered an early exit, going out to Japan’s Kei Nishikori after a marathon 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-4 battle.
On Tuesday, Belgian ninth seed David Goffin dropped a set to home hope Marco Cecchinato before getting back on track 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
And Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov battled past Czech veteran Tomas Berdych 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), a week after becoming the youngest semi-finalist in Madrid.
The 19-year-old will become the new Canadian number one next week. “I’m a little bit in shock,” he said. “It’s crazy that it’s come so early.”
After a sloppy start Shapovalov found his feet in the second set breaking for a 3-1 advantage after Berdych hit a forehand into the net.