Roger Federer returns to action and wins at Italian Open

Roger Federer put his full array of shots on display in a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev on Wednesday in the second round of the Italian Open in Rome, an encouraging performance considering he only decided to play moments before stepping onto the court.

“I was expecting to lose in straight sets today. That was the mind-set going in, so to win in straights is actually a really big surprise to me,” said Federer, who has been having problems with his back. “I played cautious, and I only decided after the warmup that I was actually going to play.”

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and seven-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal also advanced in straight sets on the red clay courts at the Foro Italico.

In women’s action, Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka and last week’s Madrid Open winner, Simona Halep, each lost.

After withdrawing from Madrid with lower back pain, Federer looked sharp from the start against the 44th-ranked Zverev, using his backhand slice drop shot especially well.

The 19-year-old Zverev, considered a potential future Grand Slam champion, often found himself running down shots wide in the alleys.

Federer will next meet 13th-seeded Dominic Thiem, who beat Joao Sousa of Portugal, 6-3, 6-2, but he couldn’t immediately confirm that he would play Thursday. “I don’t know how I’m going to feel tomorrow,” he said.

Rome is the last major warmup for the French Open, which starts May 22.