Britain's Aljaz Bedene loses to Denis Istomin in Kremlin Cup in Moscow
Wednesday 21 October 2015 13:23, UK
British No 2 Aljaz Bedene crashed out of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Wednesday, losing in the first round to Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.
Bedene threatened to stage a fightback in the second set before Istomin, who won his first ATP Tour title in Nottingham in June, sealed a 6-3 6-3 victory in 71 minutes.
After saving two break points to level at 2-2 in the opening set, Bedene was unable to repeat the trick in his next service game and Istomin comfortably closed out the set after 38 minutes.
Bedene, who at 50th in the world is ranked three places above his opponent, lost his serve in the opening game of the second set and also in the fifth as he fell 5-1 behind, before reclaiming one of the breaks as Istomin served for the match.
However, the Slovenia-born 26-year-old then squandered three game points and eventually lost his serve for the fourth time in the contest as Istomin advanced to a second-round clash with top seed Marin Cilic.
