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Chengdu Open: Dan Evans loses to Roman Safiullin in straight sets

British number two Dan Evans suffered a straight-set defeat in his opening match at the Chengdu Open in China.

Less than a week after helping Great Britain secure a place in the Davis Cup Finals last eight, Evans lost 6-3 6-3 to Russian Roman Safiullin.

Evans, 33, and team-mate Neal Skupski saved four match points to edge a nerve-wracking decider against France in Manchester on Sunday.

But, having received a first round bye, the fourth seed could not progress.

Ranked 27th in the world, Evans' tournament was ended in 83 minutes by the 55th-ranked Safiullin, who will meet Australian Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals.