Marcelo Melo receives blow to the head from doubles partner in Rome

Marcelo Melo was the victim of a rare injury during his Rome Masters quarter-final defeat on Friday.

The tall Brazilian was hit in the head at speed by his partner Lukas Kubot's second serve during the second set of the quarter-final match.

World No 1 pairing Henri Kontinen and John Peers, Australian Open winners, went on to secure a 6-4 7-6 victory and secure a potential meeting with the American pairing of John Isner and Jack Sock.

The blow to Melo, 33, resulted in a stoppage of play where he was given an ice pack to relieve some of the immediate pain.

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Despite the best efforts of Melo and Kubot to take the contest into a third set, Kontinen and Peers eventually prevailed taking the second set tie-break.

Hit play on the video at the top of the page to see the incident unfold and follow the Rome Masters action this week across our Sky Sports platforms.