British No 2 Cameron Norrie has been knocked out of the China Open after a 6-3 6-4 defeat to Daniil Medvedev in the first round.
Norrie failed to find his best form in Beijing, making plenty of unforced errors and allowing his opponent to gain a comfortable lead despite world No 11 Medvedev not being at his best.
Medvedev broke Norrie five times in the match, which lasted an hour and 15 minutes, as he exposed issues with his forehand.
Medvedev, who is seeded eighth, will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last 16.
Earlier this year, Norrie claimed one of his best victories with a five-set triumph over Medvedev in the first round of the French Open.
“I didn’t play badly, I served pretty well except for a couple of games, same on the return,” Medvedev said.
“I had a lot of chances to break and I think I deserve to win in terms of the game plan and the stats, so I’m happy to go through.
“I can play much, much better than that. The way back is step by step, and this was a small step forward.
“I was trying to be aggressive. And I think I did. I hit a lot of winners.”
Norrie vs Medvedev: Tale of the Tape
Boulter knocked out of China Open
Highlights of Katie Boulter against Amanda Anisimova from the China Open
Britain’s No 2 Katie Boulter was also knocked out of the second round of China Open after a 6-1 6-3 defeat to America’s Amanda Anisimova.
Boulter had defeated Hailey Baptiste 7-5 5-7 6-4 in the first round to secure her meeting with the Wimbledon and US Open finalist but was completely overpowered on Friday.
Boulter made seven double faults compared to Anisimova’s two in a match that lasted an hour and 19 minutes, with the American landing a cross-court backhand winner on the third match point, which the Brit couldn’t reach.
“I’m super excited to be back in Beijing, I love playing here and I really like the city so it’s good to be back,” Anisimova said.
“I really like playing here so I’m hoping I can play well and hopefully I can get far in these tournaments.
“I have a lot of fans here which is really nice, they were great today and you guys can come out for my next one.”
Boulter vs Anisimova: Tale of the Tape
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