ROME (AP) — Sa kabila ng pananakit ng likod, napabilang pa rin si Roger Federer sa tennis heavyweight na sasabak sa third round ng Italian Open.

Ginapi ng 16-time major champion si Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 7-5, nitong Miyerkules (Huwebes sa Manila) sa larong siya man ay nasorpresa sa kinahinatnan.

"I was expecting to lose in straight sets today. That was the mindset going in, so to win in straights is actually a really big surprise to me," sambit ni Federer, sumabak sa torneo bilang last-minute entry.

'Pikon daw?' UAAP fan na nag-dirty finger, agaw-eksena sa San Juan Arena!

"I played cautious, and I only decided after the warmup that I was actually going to play."

Nagwagi rin sina top-ranked Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray at seven-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal sa red clay court ng Foro Italico.

Sa women's division, maaga namang nasibak sina Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka , at Madrid Open winner Simona Halep.

Makakaharap ni Federer si 13th-seeded Dominic Thiem, nagwagi kontra kay Joao Sousa ng Portugal 6-3, 6-2.

Ginapi ni Djokovic ang 35-anyos French qualifier na si Stephane Robert 7-5, 7-5, habang kumana ng anim na ace si Murray tungo sa 6-3, 6-3 panalo kontra sa Kazakh qualifier na si Mikhail Kukushkin.

Pinadapa naman ni Nadal si Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-3, para maisaayos ang duwelo kontra kay Nick Kyrgios ng Australia, namayani kay Milos Raonic 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Naungusan ni Eugenie Bouchard, 2014 Wimbledon runner-up, ang second-seeded na si Kerber 6-1, 5-7, 7-5; pinabagsak ng 35th-ranked na si Irina-Camelia Begu si Azarenka 6-3, 6-2; at pinatalsik ni Daria Gavrilova si Halep 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.