Past and present Wimbledon winners Maria Sharapova and Czech Petra Kvitova made straight-set moves into the third round of the Rome Masters on Tuesday, with the Russian second seed made to work hard.
Defending champion and second seed Sharapova needed nearly two and a quarter hours to get past 36th-ranked Christina McHale 7-5, 7-5. Kvitova accounted for Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4 in sunny, breezy conditions with spring pollen swirling through the air at the Foro Italico.
On Monday, Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat Marina Erakovic and Monica Nicolescu 6-1, 6-2 to sail into the second round of the women's doubles draw.
Important results: Men: Second round: David Ferrer bt Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 7-6(3); Juan Carlos Ferrero bt Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-3.
First round: Richard Gasquet bt Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 7-6(6); Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-1; Juan Martin del Potro bt Michael Llodra 7-5, 3-6, 6-4; Marcel Granollers bt Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4; Sam Querrey bt Jarkko Nieminen 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4; Radek Stepanek bt Juan-Ignacio Chela 2-6, 6-0, 6-3; John Isner bt Philipp Kohlschreiber 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2; Nicolas Almagro bt Marin Cilic 6-2, 3-6, 6-0.
Women: Second round: Maria Sharapova bt Christina McHale 7-5, 7-5; Petra Kvitova bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-4. First round: Sorona Cirstea bt Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4).
Doubles: First round: Sania Mirza & Bethanie Mattek-Sands bt Marina Erakovic & Monica Nicolescu 6-4, 6-4.
Keywords: Rome Masters
