Kazakhstan's top men's singles player, Alexander Bublik, got off to a poor start at the ATP 500 hard-court tournament in Beijing, infohub.kz reports.
The world No. 20 met Czech Jakub Mensik, the world No. 14 and eighth seed, in the first round.
The match lasted the minimum two sets, the second of which went to a tiebreak. Mensik won 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Immediately after the final point, Bublik smashed his racket against the court.
The match lasted 1 hour 37 minutes. During that time, the Kazakhstani player hit seven aces, committed one double fault and converted one of three break points.
Bublik will continue his run in Beijing in the doubles draw. There he has reached the quarterfinals alongside China's Juncheng Shang.
The WTA 1000 women's tournament is also being held in Beijing at the same time. Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, who tops the world rankings, has been given the top seed. She will begin play in the second round.