Rome. The 35-year-old Fabio Fognini stormed into the second round of the Italian Open tennis tournament, beating Andy Murray in almost three hours in a match between the two players. Fognini, who entered the tournament as a wild card after being sidelined for a month with a foot injury, saw off Murray 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Fognini hit 49 winners to Murray’s 24. Another veteran Stan Wawrinka didn’t have to break much sweat to beat Ilya Ivashka 6-2, 6-4. The start of the match was delayed by 90 minutes due to rain.
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Wawrinka is 38 years old and is the oldest player taking part in the tournament. Aleksandar Bublik, Kristian Garin, Marton Fuksovics and Sebastian Beijs also managed to register wins. China’s Yu Yibing came from behind to beat French veteran Richard Gasquet 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. In the women’s section, Lesia Tsurenko showed her way out by defeating two-time champion compatriot Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Sloane Stephens defeated Nadia Podoroska 6-4, 6-1 and will next face 14th seed Victoria Azarenka.
