Bernard Tomic has missed out on a place in the Rome Masters main draw after a straight-sets qualifying loss at the ATP Tour event in the Italian capital.
The world no.85 Australian battled hard over almost two hours on the red clay before he succumbed 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 to Albert Ramos Vinolas – the Spaniard advancing to a first-round meeting with 15th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils at the Masters 1000 event.
Tomic’s latest loss leaves the 26-year-old without a win in his past six matches.
Two of the three Australians in the 64-man main field will commence their campaigns on Monday while Nick Kyrgios will face 12th-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday.
Alex de Minaur will attempt to end his three-match losing streak against Italian 16th seed Marco Cecchinato while John Millman was drawn with British qualifier Cameron Norrie.
The opening round of matches in Rome commenced on Sunday with 14th-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili among the five winners to advance to the last 32.
The others were Italian wildcard duo Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner, German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber and Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.