Draper smashes racquet during hard-fought Rome win

Jack Draper lost his temper after his opponent saved four break points during the second set

Great Britain's Jack Draper beat Vit Kopriva to reach the last 16 of the Italian Open but his frustration boiled over during a straight-set win.

Although the fifth seed won 6-4 6-3 in Rome, he was made to work hard to close out the victory and at one point hit the court multiple times with his racquet.

Draper, who came into the tournament on the back of reaching the Madrid Open final, held serve throughout and took the first set in 41 minutes, saving one break point.

But it was by no means plain sailing in the second as Czech qualifier Kopriva saved four break points to cut his deficit to 3-2.

After world number five Draper gave him the game by sending a drop shot into the net, he struck the clay four times with his racquet before slamming it on to the floor by his chair.

The 23-year-old left three divots in the centre of the court - and his racquet in tatters - and received a warning from the umpire.

Kopriva went 40-0 up in the following game but the world number 92 spurned the chance to break back as he sent a straightforward backhand long.

Draper regrouped to hold his serve and take a 4-2 lead, before setting up the chance to break Kopriva for the second time in the set - and the third overall.

Again Kopriva proved stubborn opposition by saving two match points, the second after a bad bounce on one of the divots left by Draper forced an error from the British number one.

But Draper clinched victory at the third time of asking, having hit twice as many winners as Kopriva (21-10), although Draper did notch up more unforced errors (37-27).

"It was a tough match," Draper told Sky Sports. "I felt a little low in energy, my feet weren't working as well as I wanted them to, but I tried to fight hard and find a way.

"The frustration boiled out a bit too much in the end but I stayed at it and I came through."

He added: "I'm human. We don't always wake up feeling great. I'm the same.

"I think I've played a lot of tennis, a lot of matches. I'm in a new position now, my ranking is obviously going up, and I'm getting to compete week in, week out and play lots of matches.

"It's taking some getting used to for me from a mental and physical side, and I want to keep going, but it's sometimes difficult to always be perfect."

Draper will next play world number 83 Corentin Moutet, who upset ninth seed Holger Rune in the last 16.

In a match lasting nearly four hours, the 26-year-old Frenchman won 7-5 5-7 7-6 (7-4) to claim his first victory over a top-10 player.

Fils downplays Tsitsipas dispute

Arthur Fils has won all four of his meetings with Stefanos Tsitsipas

Elsewhere on Sunday, 13th seed Arthur Fils came from a set down against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece to win 2-6 6-4 6-2.

The pair had a heated exchange as they shook hands at the net, which caused the Rome crowd to jeer and the umpire to come down from his chair.

The dispute was over a shot 18th seed Tsitsipas played straight at Fils at 3-3 in the second set, with the French number one having to take evasive action so that the ball struck his shoulder rather than his face.

The 20-year-old later downplayed the incident and said he used it for motivation.

"It was a bit tight in the middle of the second set," Fils said. "I just needed to find a way to fight.

"He told me at the end he wasn't going for my body. I told him 'I know it'. It's OK, it's all good."

Fils will next face defending champion Alexander Zverev, after the second seed from Germany cruised past Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas 6-4 6-0.

Russia's Daniil Medvedev enjoyed a 6-4 6-1 win over Australia's Alexei Popyrin to set up a last-16 clash with home hope Lorenzo Musetti, who beat American Brandon Nakashima 6-4 6-3.

Carlos Alcaraz continued his bid for a first Rome title by beating Laslo Djere 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in the final match of the day.

The Spanish third seed will face 23rd seed Karen Khachanov in round four.