Rome, May 9 (UNI) Britain's Jacob Fearnley is safely through to the second round of the Italian Open with a straight-set victory over home hero Fabio Fognini.

The 23-year-old defeated the veteran Italian - who announced on Tuesday this would be his last Masters 1000 event in Rome - 6-2 6-3 in the first round on Thursday.

Fearnley will now face another Italian opponent, Matteo Berrettini, on Saturday.

He said it was a "tough match" against the 37-year-old Fognini and he had to "dig deep" in both

sets.

"I knew playing such an experienced player like Fabio that I had to up my game in order to win," Fearnley told Sky Sports.

Thursday's match was briefly interrupted as spectators at Foro Italico were told Robert Prevost had been elected as the new Pope.

To the delight of the home crowd, Fognini started brightly before Fearnley won six games in a row to take the first set.

The second followed the same pattern, with Fognini on the front foot early on, only for his younger opponent to go on a run of games which eventually sealed the match.

Fognini made his debut at the clay-court event in 2006 and reached the quarter-finals of the tournament in 2018.

He had told the Tennis Channel before his opening tie with Fearnley that now was a "good time

to say goodbye in this beautiful city."

UNI BM