Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie qualify for Italian Open
Sunday 12 May 2019 17:03, UK
Britain's Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie have qualified for the Italian Open main draw.
World No 81 Evans defeated top seed in the qualifying and Monte-Carlo Masters finalist Dusan Lajovic, ranked 57 places higher, to record his career-best win on clay.
Norrie, who is at a career-high world No 45, saved two match points as he won a third set tiebreak to defeat Chile's Nicolas Jarry 6-3 4-6 7-6 (8-6).
They join British No 1 Kyle Edmund, who will face Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the first round, in the Masters 1000 field.
Evans defeated Robin Haase in the first round of qualifying and backed it up with another impressive performance to build confidence in the lead up to the French Open at Roland Garros later this month.
Norrie also needed three sets to defeat Germany's Peter Gojowczyk 5-7 7-5 6-3 on Saturday and the British trio will join world No 1 Novak Djokovic and defending champion Rafael Nadal in the draw.
Roger Federer has also confirmed he will play in Rome for the first time since 2015 after he reached the Madrid Open quarter-finals in his first tournament on clay for three years.
We have the tennis season covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
