Tennis Tracker: Gauff wins first match in Rome but Sabalenka shocked by Kenin

23:34 CET - Play has come to a close in the Italian capital with the final game of the day going the way of Italian Matteo Arnaldi (22) in a mammoth two-hour, 24 minute battle against Diego Schwartzman (30), finishing 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

21:48 CET - On a day of shocks, Caroline Garcia (29) has battled into the next round thanks to a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Ana Bogdan (30). Another three-setter, this time between Alex Molcan (25) and Stefano Napolitano (28) with Molcan taking the win with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.

20:52 CET - Another shock exit in Rome as world number two and Madrid Masters champion Aryna Sabalenka (25) has been dumped out by Sofia Kenin (24) 7-6, 6-2. A huge result for the American and one to forget for the Belarussian.

20:37 CET - JJ Wolf (24) was due to play Quentin Halys (26) today, however the Frenchman had to pull out of the tournament through injury, but that did not throw the American off his stride as he was victorious against lucky loser Hugo Grenier (27), winning their contest 7-5, 7-5.

In the WTA event in Rome, Camila Osorio (21) defeated Petra Martic (32) 6-4, 6-2.

19:55 CET - Our FlashMoments for today are here! Starting with WTA as Magda Linette raised everyone's brows with a brilliant and powerful backhand to win a point against Linda Noskova.

While our ATP FlashMoment came from David Goffin as a strong forehand got past a spectator Luca Nardi who could only help but watch as he conceded the point.

19:19 CET - In a day full of upsets, the biggest one yet has to be world number three Jessica Pegula crashing out from the first round at the hands of 168th-ranked Taylor Townsend. An almost two-hour-long contest ended with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 towards the unexpected American.

19:04 CET - Couple of sets were enough for Russian Anastasia Potapova to get past Elisabetta Cocciaretto thanks to a 6-4, 6-4 match.

18:55 CET - A simple victory for Brazilian world number 15 Beatriz Haddad Maia (26) as she got past Elena Gabriela Ruse (25) after two sets 2-6, 3-6.

18:27 CET - A couple of updates from the ATP tour as the afternoon draws to a close. Nicolas Jarry (27) was on the wrong end of an upset as he trailed to German Yannick Hanfmann (31) by a 4-6, 4-6 result. Following that was yet another unexpected victor in Fabian Marozsan (23) against Frenchman Corentin Moutet (24). 

17:24 CET - Local talent Lorenzo Sonego (28) had a comfortable afternoon as he got past Jeremy Chardy (36) in just over an hour with a 6-2, 6-1 result.

In a more surprising turn of events, Dusan Lajovic (32) was defeated by Nuno Borges (26) as the Portuguese prevailed with two sets 4-6, 1-6.

17:03 CET - It is a 6-2, 6-2 victory for Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina (26) over Anna Blinkova (24) to see her into the next round, whilst Albert Ramos-Vinolas (35) has seen off Francesco Passaro (22) in three sets - 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

16:16 CET - More results to give you as Guido Pella (32), ranked 484 in the world, has beaten the world number 41, Maxime Cressy (26) 6-3, 6-4. Elsewhere, Madison Keys (28) has won 6-3, 6-2 over Magdalena Frech (25).

15:58 CET - Mackenzie McDonald (28) suffered an upset at the hands of Marco Cecchinato (30) as the Italian was victorious through a 6-3, 7-5 match.

15:35 CET - Belgian David Goffin (32) progresses through to the next round of the Italian Open after defeating local youngster Luca Nardi (19) after a long match which ended in a 6-3, 4-6, 2-6

15:14 CET - This time around, the Czech player in question was victorious. Marie Bouzkova (24) got past American Caty McNally (21) in just under two hours after a 4-6, 3-6 contest.

14:37 CET - Magda Linette (31) defeated Czech teenager Linda Noskova (18) with a 7-6, 6-1 result.

14:09 CET - Brazilian Thiago Monteiro (28) cruised past Adrian Mannarino (34) 1-6, 2-6. Meanwhile, world number five Coco Gauff (19) needed just an hour to brush Yulia Putintseva (28) off with a comfortable 6-0, 6-1 win.

 13:55 CET - Going to the men's tour as the morning games have just been concluded. A thrilling two-and-a-half-hour-long contest ended with the victory of Jason Kubler over Marc-Andrea Huesler by 7-6, 4-6, 2-6. Alongside them was a match that lasted even longer in Daniel Altmaier and Giulio Zeppieri as the former prevailed 6-7, 6-4, 0-6.

13:10 CET - Other victories came in for world number 12 Veronika Kudermetova as she defeated Nurria Parrizas-Diaz 5-7, 2-6. Following them by a few moments was the Xiyu Wang and Irina-Camelia Begu clash that ended with the triumph of the Chinese by 4-6, 5-7. 

12:58 CET - World number 17 Victoria Azarenka (33) cruised past American Sloane Stephens (30) 6-4, 6-3.

12:29 CET - Our first result in what will be a busy day in Rome is in with Anna Bondar (25) upsetting the odds to defeat world number 14 Karolina Pliskova (31) 7-6, 6-2. 

9:55 CET - The organisers of the Madrid Open have apologised to the women's doubles finalists of this year's tournament following criticism for denying players the opportunity to make speeches at the trophy ceremony.

Singles world number three Jessica Pegula, who partnered Coco Gauff in their 6-1 6-4 defeat by Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia, said on Sunday she was left disappointed after organisers did not allow the finalists to address fans.

The men's doubles finalists were allowed to do so following their match a day earlier and tournament organisers apologised to players and fans "who expect more of the Madrid Open".

"Not giving our women's doubles finalists the chance to address their fans at the end of the match was unacceptable and we have apologised directly to Victoria, Beatriz, Coco and Jessica," tournament CEO Gerard Tsobanian said.

Read the full story here.

9:49 CET -  World number seven Ons Jabeur (28) said women players should not have to wait to receive the same prize money as their male counterparts at the Italian Open after tournament organisers announced plans to achieve pay parity by 2025.

Tennis has sought to be a leader in the battle for equality in the last couple of decades with equal prize money offered to men and women at the four Grand Slams.

WTA Tour events, however, still often offer less prize money than those on the separate men's circuit. In the Rome tournament, the total "financial commitment" for the men is $9.51 million while for the women it is $3.5 million.

Italian tennis federation chief Angelo Binaghi said last month the event had started a process that would lead to equal prize money over three years, but Tunisian Jabeur called for immediate change.

"I don't see why we have to wait," Jabeur told the New York Times. "It's really frustrating. It's time for change. It's time for the tournament to do better."

Read the full story here.

8:11 CET - Andy Murray's (35) chances of being seeded for the French Open were dented on Wednesday when the former world number one lost to Fabio Fognini (35) in the first round of the Italian Open.

Just days after winning the second-tier Aix-en-Provence Challenger Tour crown, his first title since 2019 and first on clay since 2016, Murray delivered another inconsistent claycourt performance in a 6-4 4-6 6-4 defeat by Fognini.

Murray, who had been hoping to boost his world ranking with a deep run in Rome and be seeded for Roland Garros, said it had been a "pretty patchy match" against the Italian.

"There was some good stuff in there, but also some pretty average stuff," he was quoted as saying by The Guardian. "He played well in the third set. My level was OK, but he played really well in the third."

Read the full story here.

7:03 CET - Starting the day with some updates on the overnight action as both Paula Badosa and Camila Giorgi were victorious over Anna-Lena Friedsam and Arantxa Rus.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka takes on Sofia Kenin, the Belarussian comes in with good momentum after defeating Iga Swiatek in the Madrid Open final.

French international Caroline Garcia precedes the champion's clash as she faces Ana Bogdan. 

Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff play their first matches in the Italian capital against Taylor Townsend and Yulia Putintseva respectively.

Meanwhile, the ATP tour proceeds to its second day as Maxime Cressy, Emil Ruusuvuori, Nicolas Jarry and Lorenzo Sonego take to the court