Sunday 14 May 2017 17:59, UK
Britain's Dan Evans fell to a straight sets defeat to Jiri Vesely in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
Vesley, from the Czech Republic, needed only one hour and 16 minutes to run out a comfortable 6-3 6-1 winner and bridge a gap of five places in the world rankings.
World No 58 Evans had chances to break at 4-1 down in the first set and recover from a difficult start.
But Vesely showed his fighting spirit by saving every one of Evans' eight break points in the contest.
Aljaz Bedene booked his place in the first round by beating Argentina's Renzo Olivo in straight sets.
Having already dispatched Lukas Lacko in the first qualifying round, the Slovenia-born British No.3 displayed early nerves and dropped his opening service game against Olivo.
However, four games in succession helped Bedene secure the opening set before a decisive break in game five of the second sealed a 6-3 6-4 victory in one hour and 36 minutes.
The World No 56 joins fellow Brits Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund in the men's main draw in Rome.
