Rome Masters: Nadal, Murray win; Federer out

Federer's loss to Thiem means Murray will be second seed at French Open. Fifth seed Nadal still has an outside shot at pipping Wawrinka for fourth seed.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion only decided to face Thiem at the last minute on Central Court, and the Austrian capitalised to finish off an ailing Federer in 1hr 18mins.

Rafael Nadal gained a measure of revenge over Nick Kyrgios with a three-set win at the Internazionali d'Italia on Thursday.

The Spaniard had lost the only previous meeting between the pair – their memorable clash at Wimbledon in 2014 – but claimed a battling 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-4 win in Rome. Nadal, a seven-time champion at the ATP 1000 event, showcased his trademark defence and movement after a somewhat slow start to the third-round clash, and a meeting with either Novak Djokovic or Thomaz Bellucci awaits.

Andy Murray joined the Spaniard in the quarter-finals with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Jeremy Chardy on Thursday.

Second seed Murray looked set to cruise into the last eight when he won the first set in just 29 minutes and although Chardy showed some resistance, he was unable to prevent a 6-0 6-4 defeat in Rome. World number three Murray, without a coach following his split from Amelie Mauresmo this week, will now face David Goffin or Tomas Berdych.

Swiss third seed Roger Federer's Rome Masters bid ended at the third round with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 defeat to Austrian 13th seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday.

> Roger Federer in doubt for French Open

Federer, who withdrew last week from Madrid with back pain, admitted Wednesday he had been surprised to get past second round opponent Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

Rome marks only the fourth tournament of the season for Federer, who underwent knee surgery in early February, the first operation of his career.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion only decided to face Thiem at the last minute on Central Court, and the Austrian capitalised to finish off an obviously ailing Federer in 1hr 18mins.

In the quarter-finals, Thiem will now play either French 11th seed Richard Gasquet or Japan's sixth seed Kei Nishikori, who face off in a third round clash later Thursday.

It could be the beginning of a Rome Masters fairytale for the 22-year-old Austrian, who is approaching 30 wins for the season having secured two titles already and suffered defeat to Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final at Munich nearly a fortnight ago.

Later, defending champion Novak Djokovic faces Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci while seven-time winner Rafael Nadal plays Australian Nick Kyrgios.