British number one Heather Watson has been beaten in the first round of this year's China Open.
The 21-year-old cruised through the opening set against Varvara Lepchenko, however the American stormed back to win 1-6 6-3 6-3 inside 116 minutes.
World number 55 Lepchenko, who is 21 places above Watson in the WTA rankings, will play Petra Kvitova in round two.
Watson has now lost four consecutive matches.
