Alexandr Dolgopolov was taken the distance by Andreas Seppi at the Madrid Open this afternoon.
Italian Seppi looked as though he could be about to cause an upset when he won the opening set on a tie-break in the Spanish capital.
Both players struggled to force a break of serve in the next set, resulting in another breaker being required to determine a winner. On this occasion Ukraine's Dolgopolov was the victor, serving out 7-5 to set up a deciding set.
Seppi's chances of recording a win were hampered early in the third set as Dolgopolov claimed his service game at the first time of asking.
The world number 19 pressed home his advantage with a string of cross court winners to wrap up the match 6-7 7-6 6-3.
He will now face the winner of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga versus Ryan Harrison in round three.