Cobolli suffers early exit in Beijing

Flavio Cobolli's China Open campaign came to an early end after the Italian suffered a straight-sets defeat to Roman Safiullin in Beijing.

The fourth seed struggled to find his best level as Safiullin secured a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament.

Cobolli had an opportunity to make an early breakthrough, creating three break points in the third game, but he failed to convert any of them. Safiullin then took control and eventually claimed the opening set 6-3.

The Russian continued to put pressure on Cobolli in the second set, breaking twice to establish a commanding lead. Safiullin also saved two break points when serving for the match before completing the victory.

Safiullin finished with seven aces and won 80% of points behind his first serve, while Cobolli managed 58% in that area. The Russian also produced 25 winners compared with 17 from the Italian.

The result ends Cobolli's run in Beijing immediately after his appearance at the Laver Cup. Safiullin, meanwhile, came into the tournament in strong form after reaching the semifinals in Hangzhou.