British number one Kyle Edmund lost 6-4 6-3 to Italy’s Fabio Fognini in the first round at the Madrid Open.

World number 12 Fognini, 31, took one hour and 30 minutes to secure victory as he broke Edmund’s serve four times.

Edmund could not recover after losing serve at 4-4 in the first set, or once he went 3-2 down in the second.

It is the Briton’s fourth straight defeat, having lost to American world number 82 Denis Kudla in the first round of the Munich Open last week.

The 24-year-old has also lost to Diego Schwartzman in Monte Carlo and, after a first-round victory over Ugo Humbert, to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Marrakech on clay this season.

Number one seed Novak Djokovic, 31, progressed to the third round in Madrid, beating 21-year-old American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-2.

The Serb is joined by potential quarter-final opponent Marin Cilic, after the Croat recovered from a set down against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff to win 4-6 6-3 6-4.

Competing in his final tournament before retirement, 37-year-old David Ferrer beat fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 4-6 6-4 to set up a second-round tie against third seed Alexander Zverev.

Stan Wawrinka beat France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-2 6-3 and will face Guido Pella in the second round after the Argentine overcame 12th seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2 1-6 6-3.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Jamie Murray and partner Bruno Soares reached the men’s doubles second round, taking just 18 minutes to win the first set in a 6-0 6-4 victory against Nikoloz Basilashvili and Radu Albot.

Later on Tuesday, Roger Federer will contest his first clay-court match in three years against France’s Richard Gasquet, and Barcelona Open champion Dominic Thiem faces Reilly Opeka.

Nadal ‘hopes to be ready’ despite illness

World number two Rafael Nadal is preparing to begin his tournament with a second-round match against Canada’s Felix Auger Aliassime.

A five-time champion in Madrid – most recently in 2017 – Nadal has been struggling with a virus as he aims to improve on back-to-back semi-final defeats.

The Spaniard lost to to Dominic Thiem in Barcelona and Fabio Fognini in Monte Carlo as he failed to defend either of his titles in April.

“I’ve been going through a virus. The positive side is I’ve been able to train at least an hour-and-a-half [per session],” said 32-year-old Nadal.

He added: “I hope that tomorrow is going to be a bit better. It’s true that when you have this virus and stomach viruses, the body’s a bit weaker. I’m a bit better than yesterday and yesterday was better than the day before.

“There is a bit more risk of injuries. But of course, this is a very important tournament for me and I hope to be ready. Barcelona was a positive improvement for me. I’m building up my game with more confidence than I had in Monte Carlo. I’m enjoying training and I enjoy playing each day.”

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