Adrian Mannarino is definitely allergic to the clay of Rome: the French No.2, outclassed by the Chinese Zizhen Zhang 6-1, 6-3, has still not won a single match in eight appearances at the Foro Italico.
Facing an opponent ranked 56th in the world, Mannarino, 21st in the latest ATP rankings, lost the first set in 27 minutes.
He held up better in the second set, but lost on Zhang’s first match point, winning after just one hour and eleven minutes of play.
Zhang, who remained eliminated in the first round in Madrid and Barcelona, will face the Russian Pavel Tokov or the American Ben Shelton in the next round.
