British number one Dan Evans lost in the first round of the Italian Open against American opponent Taylor Fritz.
Evans, who is ranked a career-high 26th in the world, has enjoyed success on the clay this season, but was out of sorts in a 6-3 6-2 defeat in Rome.
The 30-year-old struggled on serve throughout and showed his annoyance at the end of the first set by breaking his racquet in an angry outburst.
Evans could not recover and lost two of eight break points in the second set.
Despite this disappointment, there have been plenty of positives for Evans in the clay-court swing.
After previously having struggled on the surface, the Briton beat world number one Novak Djokovic on his way to the Monte Carlo semi-finals and then reached the last 16 in Madrid last week.
Fritz, who is ranked 31st, will meet Serbia’s Djokovic in the second round.
