Eleventh seed Feliciano Lopez booked his place in the second round of the Italian Open with a straight-sets win over Nick Kyrgios this afternoon.
The pair traded breaks in the opening two games before Lopez made a crucial break in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead.
The Spaniard served out the set comfortably to love but didn't have it all his own way in the second.
He failed to take the only break-point chance either man gave up and a tie-break was required to separate the pair.
In the breaker, Kyrgios had the early advantage with a 3-1 lead, but Lopez stormed to victory by winning six of the next seven points.
The world number 13 will face either Bernard Tomic or Victor Troicki in the last 32.
Written by
Pascal Lemesre
Pascal Lemesre
