Frenchman Gilles Simon has advanced through to round three of the Rome Masters thanks to a 6-4 2-6 6-4 win over Guillermo Garcia Lopez this afternoon.
Simon required just one break of Lopez's serve to claim the opening set 6-4 in the Italian capital.
However, Spaniard Lopez responded positively in the second set and claimed two of Simon's service games on his way to setting up a deciding third set.
The decider went a similar way to the first set, with Simon acquiring one break of serve to seal his passage into the next round.
Simon will now take on fellow French player Richard Gasquet.
