British number five Liam Broady was eliminated from the second round of the Hong Kong Open by Russian top seed Andrey Rublev on Thursday.
The world number 108 came through qualifying to reach the main draw of the ATP 250 tournament and earned himself a spot in round two thanks to an impressive win over Argentina's Pedro Cachin.
Broady battled hard against nine-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Rublev in a frenetic affair, but the Russian eventually came through 6-4 7-6[8] in the pair's first-ever meeting on the ATP Tour.
Broady was put under enormous pressure early doors, losing serve straight away and having to save three break points for his opening hold in the fourth game, although he stunned Rublev by breaking back to 3-5 while the Russian was serving for the set.
The 29-year-old's respite was short-lived, though, as Rublev missed two set points in the 10th game before being presented with a third chance to take the opener on a Broady double fault, which he took.
However, the world number five lamented three successive unforced errors as he lost serve in the first game of the second set, and Broady was a game away from forcing a decider, only to capitulate as Rublev broke to love for 5-5.
Broady failed to make Rublev pay for two double faults in the 11th game, missing another chance to break before succumbing to a spate of winners from the top seed in the tie-breaker, as Rublev triumphed in one hour and 50 minutes to set up a quarter-final meeting with Arthur Fils.
Elsewhere on the ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal eased into the last eight of the Brisbane International with a 6-1 6-2 win over fellow wildcard Jason Kubler, reaching the quarter-finals of an ATP Tour event for the 225th time.
Ben Knapton
