Britain's Emma Raducanu fell at the first hurdle of the Linz Open as China's Wang Xinyu marched to a thrilling three-set victory in the second round Austria.
Xinyu broke Raducanu's serve in the third game of the first set and stormed into a 6-1 lead with a powerful and aggressive approach, despite the US Open champion saving three set points.
Raducanu found herself 4-2 up in the second set but was pegged back to 6-6 as the set went to a tie-break, which saw the Brit run away with a 7-0 romping to level the scores.
However, after an injury scare which required a medical timeout in the deciding set, Raducanu ultimately fell to defeat as Xinyu claimed a 6-1 6-7 7-5 victory to advance to the quarter-finals.
Raducanu had been handed a wildcard entry into the second round but has now suffered three defeats from five matches since becoming US Open champion back in September.
Twenty-year-old Xinyu will now prepare for her quarter-final showdown with Alison Riske of the USA, while Raducanu's 2021 season comes to a bittersweet end.
Ben Knapton
