Cameron Norrie crashed out of the Italian Open after suffering a straight-set defeat against Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante in the second round.
The British number one and 17th seed lost 6-3, 7-5 to the world number 69 in Rome after struggling to recover from a poor start.
Norrie, currently ranked 19th in the world, entered the tournament directly in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.
However, Tirante immediately seized control of the contest by breaking Norrie’s serve in the opening game before racing into a 3-0 lead.
The Argentine maintained his dominance throughout the first set and wrapped it up in just 34 minutes with confident serving and aggressive baseline play.
Tighter Second Set Not Enough For Norrie
The second set proved more competitive as both players held serve for much of the contest.
Norrie attempted to force a decider, but Tirante delivered the crucial breakthrough at 5-5 by breaking the Briton’s serve.
The 25-year-old Argentine then produced a flawless final service game, winning it to love to complete one of the biggest victories of his career.
Tirante recently climbed to a career-high ranking of 69 and is currently the seventh highest-ranked men’s singles player from Argentina.
He will now face either Flavio Cobolli or Terence Atmane in the third round.
British Singles Campaign Ends In Rome
Norrie’s defeat ends British involvement in the singles competition at the tournament.
Earlier, Katie Boulter exited the women’s draw following a first-round loss to Eva Lys.
Several other British stars are also missing from this year’s Italian Open due to injuries and illness, including Jack Draper, Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal.
Norrie had shown encouraging form recently by reaching the last 16 of the Madrid Open before losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
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