When Roger Federer arrived in Rome, he quickly muted expectations of his result in the aftermath of welcoming twin sons to his family. He surely lacked preparation, both physical and mental, for the rigorous tests posed by a Masters 1000 tournament. Talented but inconsistent Frenchman Jeremy Chardy outlasted the world No. 4 in a third-set tiebreak after losing the first set, sending Federer to his first opening-round loss at this level since he fell to Ernests Gulbis in Rome four years ago.

The Swiss star still produced a strong performance in most categories and outplayed Chardy for extended stretches. Federer finished the match with a stronger first-serve percentage, more aces, and fewer service games surrendered than his conqueror. Matches that end in a third-set tiebreak usually come down to one or two key moments of inspiration or lapses in focus. Considering his recent circumstances, Federer could not have been expected to summon the former or resist the latter in a match of relatively little consequence. Having reached the Monte Carlo final earlier this spring, he will not lack clay preparation heading into Roland Garros, where this defeat should have little impact.

Most of the other men's favorites advanced smoothly on Wednesday, including Andy Murray. An early loss in Madrid to Santiago Giraldo had exposed the two-time major champion's flaws on his weakest surface. Still, Murray managed to defeat clay specialist Marcel Granollers in straight sets to open in his Rome campaign. Another notable man who fell to Giraldo in Madrid, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, battled through two tiebreaks to oust the towering serve of Kevin Anderson. The first of those tiebreaks reached 14-14 before Tsonga finally sealed it, and he must have felt relieved to close out the second in more straightforward fashion. A trio of one-handed backhands in Grigor Dimitrov, Mikhail Youzhny, and Tommy Haas advanced with less drama, although Dimitrov and Haas both played first-set tiebreaks.

Like Federer, Serena Williams had left her participation in Rome doubtful at first. Withdrawing from Madrid last week with a thigh strain, Serena ultimately decided to play the Premier Five event after receiving treatment for her injury. The world No. 1 dropped only four games to Andrea Petkovic in an opening performance that should have reassured her fans. Despite striking more double faults than aces, Serena dropped serve only once in the match and dominated behind her first serve while creating plenty of break points in return games.

Less fortunate was Serena's sister, one of five other American women in action on Wednesday. Venus Williams fell routinely to 13th seed Carla Suarez Navarro, a much superior player on this surface. Suarez Navarro can look forward to a third-round clash against Madrid finalist Simona Halep, who also defeated an American opponent. After dropping the first set to Madison Keys as upset bells rang, Halep collected herself and yielded just one game over the second and third sets. 

That impressive comeback was emulated by one of the other Americans in the draw, qualifier Christina McHale. Home hope Camilia Giorgi, who had upset Dominika Cibulkova in the first round, looked poised to delight her compatriots again when she dominated McHale in the first set. But the American rallied to turn the tide in the second set and won the decisive frame as resoundingly as she had lost the first. The draw has opened for McHale after Petra Kvitova's upset on Tuesday, for she will face another unseeded opponent in Zhang Shuai on Thursday.

Much more imposing is the task awaiting Varvara Lepchenko, destined to face Serena in the third round. Lepchenko cruised past higher-ranked compatriot Sloane Stephens with ease, however, so this Ukrainian-born American may bring a measure of belief to that formidable challenge.

In contrast to Giorgi, other Italian women shone on Wednesday. A champion at Roland Garros four years ago, Francesca Schiavone battled past rising star Garbine Muguruza in a third-set tiebreak, while top-ranked Italian Sara Errani solved the left-handed serve of Ekaterina Makarova. She will face qualifier Petra Cetkovska in the third round, whereas Schiavone eyes an intriguing matchup against world No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska. Much the superior player overall at this stage in both careers, Radwanska falls well short of Schiavone's prowess on clay.

Another former Roland Garros champion, Ana Ivanovic, advanced in later action against the recently resurgent Alize Cornet. After dominating the first-set tiebreak, Ivanovic fell behind midway through the second set but regrouped to sweep four of the last five games and avoid a final set. Ivanovic now has won her last 15 matches at WTA events against opponents outside the top 10.