British number one Cameron Norrie booked his spot in the third round of the Madrid Open on Saturday, but compatriot Dan Evans was knocked out.
Norrie overcame a difficult start to prevail 6-4 7-6[5] against Japan's Yosuke Watanuki, but Evans lost in straight sets to Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
A spate of mistakes flew off the racquet of Norrie in the opening exchanges, including two double faults in his first service game as he saved two break points for a hard-fought hold.
However, Watanuki's pressure eventually told as he broke in the fourth game before firing back-to-back aces for a 4-1 lead, but Norrie subsequently produced a stunning fightback.
The world number 13 embarked on a five-game winning streak to take the first set, but Watanuki continued to hold firm in the second, albeit without bringing up a single break point.
The Japanese world number 117 beat away two break points for Norrie en route to a pivotal tie-breaker, where unforced errors proved to be his downfall as Norrie took his second match point to set up a last-32 tie with China's Zhang Zhizhen.
Earlier in the day, Evans's tournament came to a swift end with defeat to Zapata Miralles, losing 6-3 6-2 to the home favourite in just one hour and 19 minutes.
© Reuters
The world number 24 had enjoyed a positive start to the clay-court season, reaching the semi-finals of the Grand Prix Hassan II and Barcelona Open earlier this month.
However, winning just 54% of points on his first serve and failing to come up with a single ace compared to six for Zapata Miralles, Evans bowed out of the second round with a whimper.
A spate of early unforced errors from Evans allowed Zapata Miralles to storm into a 3-0 lead, and the Briton could not fashion a single opportunity to break back in what remained of the first set.
The start to the second set followed a similar pattern, as Evans fell 4-0 down after being broken twice and had to save two break points in the fifth game to prevent a possible bagel.
A couple of nervy holds just delayed the inevitable for Evans, as world number 42 Zapata Miralles set up a third-round encounter with Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin, who beat American 14th seed Tommy Paul.
There were also victories for Daniil Medvedev, Frances Tiafoe, Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz on Saturday, while Dusan Lajovic impressively beat Canadian seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Russian protege Mirra Andreeva headlined the women's results with a 6-3 6-3 win over Magda Linette - setting up a clash with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka - while Coco Gauff went down 6-3 6-0 to Paula Badosa.
Ben Knapton
