Andy Murray squandered an early lead when he crashed out to Aslan Karatsev in the last 16 of the Zhuhai Championships in China.
Murray claimed the first set against his world number 63 opponent, but Karatsev fought back to punish the Scot’s inconsistent serve and win 4-6 6-3 6-2.
It was the first meeting between Murray and the Russian since they faced each other in the final of the Sydney Tennis Classic last year, a match which Karatsev won in straight sets.
But Murray put himself in a strong position to exact revenge after saving four early break points and then coming up with two breaks and taking the opener.
Murray had gone to China having helped Great Britain reach the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup, and on Thursday he defeated wildcard Ye Cong Mo in the opening round.
And fatigue may have started to take its toll as Karatsev put himself in a dominant position in the second set to lead 4-1. Despite a mini-Murray revival, he held on to level the match.
Karatsev stepped up a gear in the decider, grabbing two consecutive breaks to take a 4–0 lead from which Murray never seemed to recover.