Sharapova retires, Murray stunned in Rome Masters

Djokovic moves ahead

Four-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic overcame Britain’s Aljaz Bedene 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 for a place in the third round.The world number two came through a tight opening set by dominating the tiebreaker before finishing off his victory amid a smattering of jeers from the crowd.

Nadal enters pre-quarters

Rafael Nadal eased into the last-16 when his second-round opponent Nicolas Almagro retired after sustaining a knee injury early in the first set. Nadal raced into a 3-0 lead before Spanish compatriot Almagro felt his left knee with less than half an hour played.

 Maria Sharapova retired with injury in her second-round match in Rome, just hours after she was denied a wild card for the French Open, while defending champion Andy Murray crashed to a heavy defeat in his opener against Fabio Fognini.

Sharapova, who was wearing a bandage on her left thigh,  pulled out of her contest against Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni while leading 4-6 6-3 2-1 to round out a miserable day for the five-time Grand Slam champion.