Great Britain's Harriet Dart made it through to the second round of the Guangzhou Open on Monday, but compatriot Jodie Burrage was eliminated.
In the first edition of the WTA 250 tournament since 2019, Dart strolled past Germany's Jule Niemeier 6-3 6-2, but Burrage went down 7-6[3] 0-6 2-6 to top seed Magda Linette.
Dart - who is still searching for her first top-level singles title - came through qualifying to set up a first-round tie with Niemeier, whom she had previously defeated in an ITF W25 tournament in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin three years ago.
The 27-year-old had the German's number this time around too, taking just one hour and 17 minutes to wrap up a straightforward two-set victory, in which serving errors bedevilled both players.
Niemeier managed to save three break points in the opening game, but she lost her serve in the third and was made to pay for six double faults as Dart earned the double break in the ninth to move ahead.
However, it was the Briton's turn to make a multitude of mistakes on serve in the second, double-faulting three times in a row and ceding an immediate break to Niemeier, who backed up the break with a love hold.
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Dart fought back in sensational style, though, winning six games on the trot and converting her second match point to progress to the last 16, where her opponent will be Belgian seventh seed Greet Minnen.
For a short while, Burrage was on course to join Dart in the second round, as the 24-year-old sought to replicate her win over Linette from this year's Nottingham Open, where she lost to Katie Boulter in her first tour final.
However, the world number 91 - playing in her first match since losing to Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open - failed to hold out against Linette, who completed a fierce turnaround to prevail in two hours and 22 minutes.
Twice Burrage broke the Pole's serve in the opening set, and twice Linette bit back - including when Burrage was trying to serve out the set - but the Briton roared into a 6-1 lead in the tie-breaker and eventually got over the line.
A fired-up Linette overwhelmed Burrage in the second, though, restricting her opponent to a mere three receiving points and breaking three times to level the match with a bagel.
The writing was on the wall for Burrage when she lost five of the first six games in the pivotal third set, and while she managed to restore some parity with a hold to 15 before saving two match points, Linette deservedly booked her place in round two, where Australia's Daria Saville or Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam will await.
Ben Knapton
