Red-hot Andy Murray and seven-time champion Rafael Nadal notched second-round victories Wednesday at the $4.335 million Italian Open tennis event.
The third-seeded Murray cruised past Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-3, while the fourth-seeded former world No. 1 Nadal whipped Turkish qualifier Marsel Ilhan 6-2, 6-0 on the red clay at Foro Italico.
Murray beat Nadal in last week's Madrid Masters final to capture his second clay-court title in two weeks, the first two clay titles of his career.
The French Open king Nadal lost to three-time champ Novak Djokovic in last year's Rome finale. The two greats have combined to win the last 10 titles at this Masters 1000 tournament.
Meanwhile, fifth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori handled Czech Jiri Vesely 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.
Also on Day 3, 16th-seeded American John Isner topped Argentine Leonardo Mayer 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 and Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez dismissed Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-3. Isner is rewarded with a third-round match against the clay-court wizard Nadal.
[SportsNetwork.com]
