British number four Harriet Dart bowed out in the second round of the Guangzhou Open with a three-set defeat to Belgian second seed Greet Minnen.
The 27-year-old successfully navigated two qualifying matches to reach the main draw and eased past Germany's Jule Niemeier in round one to set up a clash with Minnen.
Dart had previously overcome the Belgian in Croissy-Beaubourg four years ago, but Minnen earned her revenge in a marathon three-hour and 21-minute battle, winning 7-6[7] 6-7[5] 6-4.
Dart fought back from a 3-0 deficit in the opener to lead 6-5, but she was broken while serving for the set and also missed two set points in the tie-breaker before Minnen edged ahead.
The Briton also lost her serve twice in the second set, but she dug deep to break back straight away on both occasions, including when Minnen was trying to serve out the match, and she levelled despite posting five double faults in the second set alone.
While her first-serve percentage improved marginally in the deciding set, Dart won a mere two points behind her second serve, and Minnen drew first blood with a break to 15 for a 4-2 lead.
As she had done throughout the match, Dart responded immediately, but she could not hold her serve in the 10th game as Minnen advanced to face Lucia Bronzetti in the quarter-finals.
