Top singles stars including Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic took the court for doubles on Wednesday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, but it was the top-seeded doubles pairings who moved into the quarter-finals with impressive wins. 

Djokovic and Viktor Troicki fell 6-3, 6-4 to top seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers. The top-ranked doubles team saved all nine break points they faced to advance in 65 minutes. They’ll play the winner between fifth seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, and Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas. Bopanna/Cuevas won the lone first-round match of the day over Marcin Matkowski and Alexander Peya 6-3, 6-7(7), 10-2.

Second seeds and defending champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut defeated Wawrinka and Fabio Fognini 7-5, 6-2. Herbert/Mahut went on a nine-game run from 3-5 down in the first set. Next up for them is sixth seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers, who moved into the last eight over French duo Benoit Paire and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-2.

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Fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo scored a thrilling 6-1, 6-7(4), 14-12 victory over brothers Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev. Kubot/Melo saved a match point at 11/12 before converting on their fourth match point to advance in one hour and 29 minutes. Awaiting them in the quarter-finals is the winner between sixth seeds Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, and Florin Mergea and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

Monaco native Romain Arneodo delighted the home crowd with partner Hugo Nys as the wild card pair defeated eighth seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-5, 7-6(2). They’ll continue their dream run on Friday against third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares or Tommy Haas and Treat Huey.

It was standing-room only inside Court Rainier III as Rafael Nadal and Kyle Edmund battled on Wednesday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, so a tennis-loving bird decided to get a literal courtside seat.

With Nadal serving in the deciding set at 4-3, 40/30, the plucky bird perched itself on top of the net. A ball boy shooed him away, but the bird responded by flying onto the court as the crowd applauded. The determined animal was chased off before returning to the court for a third time, but begrudgingly plopped down at the edge of the stands at long last.

The stubborn bird even reminded some fans of their own feathered friends.

The brief delay didn’t disrupt Nadal, who won the final two games to prevail 6-0, 5-7, 6-3. Read Full Match Report

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View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following match-ups Thursday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters & vote for the players you think will win! 
Nadal v Zverev  |  Djokovic v Carreno Busta  |  Wawrinka v Cuevas  |  Murray v Ramos-Vinolas  

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Rafael Nadal opened with a stern test at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Wednesday at the start of his attempt to capture a 10th crown in the Principality. The fourth seed, who improved to 59-4 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, did not have things his own way after a stunning first-set performance against Kyle Edmund in a 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 victory that lasted two hours and 19 minutes.

Nadal now goes on to meet #NextGenATP and No. 14 seed Alexander Zverev. The German leads the Emirates ATP Race To Milan for a spot at the 21-and-under #NextGenATP Finals from 7-11 November.

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Many have been humbled on clay by Nadal, but Edmund continued to vary his game in an attempt to figure out a way into his first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against the ‘King of Clay’. Nadal so often closed the door with deft flicks and incredible pace off his forehand in the opening set, and, in losing just three points on serve, it was the 10th bagel set that Nadal has dished out at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.

The capacity crowd cheered loudly when the 22-year-old Edmund held serve to 15 at the start of the second set. Fans continued to support the Briton as he moved from a 1-2 deficit to a 4-2 lead. Nadal regrouped at one of the three tournaments where he has won nine trophies (also the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and at Roland Garros) to draw level before Edmund regained control of the baseline rallies and a secure footing. In continuing to press Nadal by advancing up the court, Edmund converted his first set point chance when Nadal shanked a backhand wide.

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Hundreds of supporters without Court Rainier III tickets flocked to the big screens around the grounds to watch the match as the tension between the lines continued to build. In an extraordinary four-game spell, Nadal saved one break point at 1-2, then there were three straight service breaks, with Edmund giving Nadal a 4-3 advantage after one of his forehands found the net. Edmund continued to fight, but Nadal broke once again, pumping his first at the end when Edmund tamely netted a slice backhand.

It was the 400th match of Nadal’s illustrious career on red dirt (366-34), and he has the best winning percentage on the surface (.915) in the Open Era. He is now 20-5 on the season, which includes runner-up finishes at the Australian Open (l. to Federer), the Abierto Mexicano Telcel (l. to Querrey) and the Miami Open presented by Itau (l. to Federer).

Earlier in the day, this year’s Open Sud de France titlist Zverev defeated Nadal’s compatriot Feliciano Lopez 6-0, 6-4 in 60 minutes. Nadal leads Zverev 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including a five-set victory at the Australian Open in January.

Third seed and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka will meet No. 16 seed Pablo Cuevas for a place in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters quarter-finals after the Swiss beat Jiri Vesely on Wednesday 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in 84 minutes for his 20th match win at the Monte-Carlo County Club.

Wawrinka opened up a 3-0 lead in the first set and despite losing his serve in the fifth game, he went on to clinch the 26-minute opener. The right-hander could not convert two break point opportunities in the second game of the second set and paid the price as Vesely broke to love for a 4-3 lead.

While Vesely, who beat Novak Djokovic in the second round last year, held on for the set, it was one-way traffic for Wawrinka in the decider. The match ended when Vesely hit his fourth double fault of the pair’s second meeting (2014 US Open).

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Elsewhere, sixth seed Dominic Thiem lost just four of his first service points (25/29) in a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 victory over Robin Haase in 62 minutes for a third-round berth for the second straight year. Thiem goes on to face No. 10 seed David Goffin.

Pablo Carreno Busta, the No. 13 seed, who finished runner-up to Thiem in the Rio de Janeiro final earlier this year, will play second seed and 2013/15 champion Novak Djokovic after he knocked out #NextGenATP Russian Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-4 in 88 minutes.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following match-ups Wednesday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters & vote for the players you think will win! 
Nadal v Edmund  |  Murray v Muller  |  Wawrinka v Vesely  |  Berdych v Haas

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