Jack Draper clocked another clay-court victory – his seventh already this season – as he ousted home hope Luciano Darderi from Rome.
Totally dominant during the first set, Draper became tangled up in some long service games in the second.
With a raucous Italian crowd gathered around the Grand Stand Arena, the match could have become extremely complicated if Darderi had scored a break.
Happily, though, Draper saved all five break points with pinpoint serving, and then turned the tables on a disconsolate Darderi to close out a 6-1, 6-4 win in an economical 78 minutes.