British number one Katie Boulter was unable to pull off a shock result in her China Open second-round match with top seed Aryna Sabalenka, losing to the Australian Open champion in straight sets.
Boulter gave a good account of herself on the court and pushed Sabalenka all the way, but the Belarusian ultimately came through 7-5 7-6[2], despite finding herself 4-5 down on Boulter's serve in both sets.
After breezing through qualifying, Boulter emerged triumphant in a three-set slog with Poland's Magdalena Frech - ending a two-match losing streak in the process - to set up a reunion with the world number one.
Sabalenka had won both of the previous meetings between the pair, which came at the 2019 Australian Open and 2021 Wimbledon second round, and she put Boulter under immense pressure early doors.
However, the British number one was digging in for a fight and saved a staggering six break points in the fourth game alone, before she drew first blood with a break of her own for a 4-3 lead.
A hold to 30 presented Boulter with the chance to serve out the first set, but the 27-year-old failed to hold her nerve when it mattered most, as Sabalenka bit back to level at 5-5 before Boulter wasted eight opportunities to break her opponent in the 11th.
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Left to rue those squandered break points, Boulter lost her serve again in the 12th game as Sabalenka took the opener, despite posting five double faults in the first set alone and registering a worse first serve percentage than the Briton.
Openings were scarce for both players in a closely-contested second set, but after missing another chance to break Sabalenka in the seventh game, Boulter made no mistake in the ninth as she sought to right the wrongs of the first set.
Once again, however, the world number 56 could not complete the job, allowing Sabalenka a route back into the match at 5-5 but at least managing to come through a final tricky hold to force a tie-breaker.
Boulter tried to catch Sabalenka out with a drop shot and lob combination, but the top seed responded with a terrific smash right on the line for the first mini-break, before the Briton could only return long from a final powerful serve down the T on match point.
With Boulter bowing out in the second round, Great Britain have no players left in the WTA 1000 event, as Jodie Burrage suffered a straight-sets defeat to Yulia Putintseva in her opening qualifying match.
Sabalenka's reward will be a third-round tie with Italy's Jasmine Paolini, which could precede a fourth-round showdown with Australian Open final opponent Elena Rybakina.
Ben Knapton
