Federer eases into third round

ROME: World number three Roger Federer eased into the third round of the WTA and ATP Italian Open on Thursday with a straight sets win over Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

Federer won through 6-4, 6-3 against the 72nd-ranked Sousa and will play Croatian 13th seed Borna Coric later in the day for a place in the quarter-finals after rain delays wiped out play on Wednesday. Federer, a four-time finalist in Rome, returns to Italy after skipping the clay season for the last two years as he concentrated on his grass game.

Djokovic books third round place: Top seed Novak Djokovic booked his ticket to the third round of the WTA and ATP Italian Open on Thursday with a straight sets win over Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

The Serbian world number one — the Madrid Open winner last weekend — won the second round match 6-1, 6-3 in 66 minutes. Djokovic, 31, a four-time Italian Open winner, next plays either German Philipp Kohlschreiber or Italy’s Marco Cecchinato for a place in the quarter-finals.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal lost just one game as he crushed France’s Jeremy Chardy in straight sets to advance to the third round of the Italian Open on Thursday. The eight-time Rome champion won 6-0, 6-1 and next meets Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, the 14th seed, later in the day for a place in the quarter-finals after rain delays wiped out play on Wednesday in the joint ATP and WTA tournament.

Exhausted Thiem rages at organisers after falling to Verdasco: World number four and last year’s French Open finalist Dominic Thiem, blasted tournament organisers for keeping competitors hanging around all day when play was washed out midweek as he was dumped out of the Italian Open second round on Thursday by Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Austrian Thiem, who had received a first round bye as the fifth seed, lost 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, in the final warm-up tournament before the start of Roland Garros on May 26. Verdasco will play Russian Karen Khachanov, the 13th seed, later in the day for a place in the quarter-finals, as competitors double up after play on Wednesday was wiped out because of rain.

“I really dislike how we players get treated at this tournament because yesterday was, in my opinion, not acceptable,” said Thiem. “They knew that not one ball of tennis was going to be played, and they hold us here until 7.30pm. “He said players were then caught up in clashes between fans before the Coppa Italia football final in the nearby Stadio Olimpico. “They also know since, I don’t know how long, that there’s going to be the football match last night,” continued the 25-year-old. “The ride back from here to the hotel took like one and a half hours.

“If everybody knows that it’s going to rain all day, then let the players leave at 2pm or 3pm when there’s no traffic, when there are no guys beating each other up on the street.