Andy Murray suffered a straight sets defeat to Fabio Fognini ©Getty Images

World number one Sir Andy Murray suffered a comprehensive defeat in the second round of the Rome Masters campaign to Italy’s Fabio Fognini at Foro Italico.

The Britain was unable to impose himself in the first set of the tie, with an inspired Fognini stopping to victory in the opener by 6-2.

Fognini maintained the momentum in the second set to establish a double break advantage to move to the brink of the third round.

The home favourite was able to hold off a Murray fightback to secure a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

Murray would be the second British player to exit the men’s draw today, with World number two Novak Djokovic ending the challenge of Aljaž Bedene.

The Serbian was challenged during the first set of the clay court match but edged a tie-break against Slovenian-born Bedene.

Djokovic, who parted company with his long-serving coaching team last month, took full control of the match to wrap up a 7-6, 6-2 win.

German youngster Alexander Zverev was among those to progress to the third round, the 20-yaer-old earning a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.

Spain's David Ferrer also progressed in three sets, earning a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over his compatriot Feliciano Lopez, which marked his 700th victory at an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) event.

In the women’s draw, Maria Sharapova retired when leading Croatia’s Mirjana Lučić-Baroni.

It was the Russian’s first match since it was announced she had missed out on a wildcard for the French Open as she continues her comeback from a 15-month doping ban.

She had come from a set down to lead Lučić-Baroni 4-6, 6-3, 2-0, but was forced to pull out through injury.

Britain's Johanna Konta was a comfortable winner in her second round match ©Getty Images
Britain's Johanna Konta was a comfortable winner in her second round match ©Getty Images

Tournament fifth seed, Britain's Johanna Konta, made light work of her second round opponent Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, securing a straight sets 6-3, 6-0 win.

Tenth seed Madison Keys exited the tournament in the first round, the American falling to a 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 defeat against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova.

France’s Kristina Mladenovic, the runner-up at the Madrid Open, was beaten 7-5, 7-5 by Germany’s Julia Görges in another surprise result.

The competition is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, as well as a Premier 5 event on the Women's Tennis Association tour.

It is a key preparation event for the French Open, the clay court Grand Slam, due to begin on May 28 at Roland Garros in Paris.