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Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier was eliminated in the first round of the tennis tournament in Rome. The 23-year-old from Dortmund was beaten 6: 4, 4: 6, 2: 6 by the Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz in her opening match after two and a half hours.
The $3.5 million clay court tournament is considered an important test of form for the French Open, which begins on May 28. Olympic champion Alexander Zverev will also take part in the Masters 1000 tournament in Italy’s capital. The Hamburg seeded at number 19 has a bye in the first round. Warsteiner Jan-Lennard Struff, who surprised by reaching the final at the most recent tournament in Madrid, canceled his originally planned start in qualifying.