Although well underway, Harold Mayot, 130th in the world, was overthrown by the local Matteo Arnaldi, 37th in the world (6-3, 5-7, 4-6). Messin may have regrets, even if he was drafted from qualifying, notably with two break points in the second set. Arnaldi made the difference, then took the upper hand and won in three rounds.
The Italian, who reached the quarter-finals in Barcelona at the beginning of April, will play against the Chilean Nicolas Jarry to try to go further than the second round, his best result in Rome.
