Katie Boulter threatens Aryna Sabalenka upset in narrow China Open defeat

Boulter served for both sets but Sabalenka hit back to win 7-5 7-6 (2)

The British No 1 was knocked out in the second round (Getty Images)

Katie Boulter pushed world number one Aryna Sabalenka before succumbing to defeat in a second-round battle at the China Open.

British number one Boulter continued her strong season by coming through qualifying and defeating Magdalena Frech in the first round in Beijing to set up a clash with Belarusian Sabalenka, playing her first event at the head of the rankings.

Boulter came close to upsetting Sabalenka at Wimbledon two years ago and this was another tight encounter, with the British player serving for both sets before her opponent hit back to win 7-5 7-6 (2).

Sabalenka, who revealed she asked for a can of Pepsi to help with stomach problems, said: “I definitely left everything I had on the court. She played unbelievable tennis, I’m super happy that I was able to win this match.”

Coco Gauff survived a marathon encounter with Croatian Petra Martic to extend her winning streak to 14 matches.

Martic served for the match in the third set, but Gauff broke back before coming through a deciding tie-break to win 7-5 5-7 7-6 (2) after three hours and one minute.

“I was just trying to play every ball,” said the US Open champion. “She raised her level and she was playing really well.

“I didn’t play my best the whole match, but the tie-breaker was definitely my best (period) of the match. These matches are going to make me tougher for the rest of the tournament and the rest of the season.”

Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva eased through to the third round with a 6-2 6-1 win over fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and will next face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, while second seed Iga Swiatek defeated Varvara Gracheva 6-4 6-1.

Fourth seed Jessica Pegula came from a set down to defeat Anna Blinkova 6-7 (2) 6-2 6-1, but Ons Jabeur saw her winning run end after her title in Ningbo last week, going down 7-6 (5) 6-1 to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.