Australia's hopes in Rome are officially over after Alex de Minaur was sent packing in the round of 16 on a cold, hail-hit day at the Italian Open.
De Minaur's clash with American 11th seed Tommy Paul was delayed by heavy rain, topped by a hailstorm, but it could have been worse.
Local favourite Lorenzo Musetti's match was suspended after the rain started hammering down as he set up match point against Daniil Medvedev.
Three hours later, both players and a packed stadium returned for one point, with ninth-ranked Musetti ripping an off-forehand winner to reach the quarterfinals of his home Masters tournament for the first time.
Meanwhile, de Minaur spent a long afternoon and evening waiting to play his last-16 tie but started strongly, breaking in the opening game, before going down 7-5, 6-3 in 1 hour and 56 minutes.
It was the Australian number one's first loss to Paul in six matches, in the sort of contest you would expect from two of the fastest players on tour.
After a tough opening set where both players fought off a slew of break points, seventh seed de Minaur was broken in the fourth and 12th games to drop the first frame and was soon trailing 5-1 in the second, with Paul closing it out soon after.
Rome is the last big warm-up tournament before the French Open starts at Roland Garros on May 25.
Eleventh seed Paul will next face Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who beat Czech Jakub Mensik, seeded ten places higher at 20, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).
Earlier, Italian tennis fans were able to enjoy watching returning hero Jannik Sinner progress to the quarterfinals with a win over Francisco Cerundolo.
Having taken the first set tie break, Sinner eased to a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory in his third match back since a three-month ban for a doping offence.
"Today I felt that I raised my level," he said.
"It was a very long day … But I need this. I'm happy to be back. I was three months out, so every situation for me, I feel very fortunate to be here, very lucky."
It marked Sinner's 24th consecutive win on tour, dating back to last October.
AAP/ABC
