Jack Draper was unable to get the better of Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open on Wednesday as the British men's No. 1 fell to a straight-sets defeat.
Draper lost 6-4, 6-4 in an intense battle in Rome, ending his bid for a first clay title.
Despite his defeat in Italy, the 23-year-old is on a hot run of form having reached the final of the Madrid Open earlier this month, where he lost to Casper Ruud. His run to the final in Spain saw him leapfrog Novak Djokovic in the world rankings as the Brit broke into the top five for the first time in his career.
Draper took advantage of a slow start from Alcaraz, storming out to a 4-2 lead in the first set. But world No. 3 Alcaraz rallied himself and came back in impressive fashion.
Playing well but getting little rewards against his determined opponent, Draper's emotions were visible, with the Brit seen shouting at himself in frustration.
Bursts of outrage have been a theme of Draper's tournament after he threw his racket on the court and broke the frame during a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Vit Kopriva on Sunday.
"I obviously lost to a great player today," Draper said. "I'm very disappointed with the way I performed in a way.
"I think from a mental and emotional point of view, you could say: 'That's normal, you had a tough four weeks now.' [But] I don't want to be normal. I want to be right up there.
"It hurts a lot, this kind of loss. But like I said, Carlos played a really good match and he was the better player. I have to accept that, go back to the drawing board, really prepare well for the French Open, know that I'm hopefully going to have many more chances against these great players."
Alcaraz will play either Lorenzo Musetti or Alexander Zverev in the seminfinals.