Despite winning the first set, August Holmgren crashed out of the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai when he lost to the World No. 78, the Australian Jordan Thompson 6-4, 3-6, 4-6.
The defeat marked a negative trend for the Dane, who has struggled to find his game, having not won many matches after his amazing run at Wimbledon, where he reached the third round after having to qualify for the tournament.
Holmgren could otherwise potentially have looked forward to a match against compatriot Holger Rune in the third round in Shanghai, but Holmgren wasn't able to sustain the level he showed in the first set against Thompson.
It was the first time that Holmgren had qualified for a Masters 1000 tournament, which ranks just below the four Grand Slam tournaments and the season finale.
From the start, Holmgren played with a lot of power in his own service games.
In the Dane's first nine serves, the Australian only managed to win one point, when Holmgren made a double fault. In the entire first set, Holmgren did not concede a break point.
On the other hand, the Dane was resistant when Thompson served, and already in the second attempt, the Dane managed to break Thompson's serve. The early break made the difference on the scoreboard in the first set.
Holmgren also showed plenty of promise in the second set, but Thompson still managed to break serve to make it 3-1, and from then on, he dominated proceedings.
The temperature was just under 30 degrees Celsius, and both players seemed to struggle in the heat as the over two-hour showdown progressed.
Holmgren was broken to 2-3 in the third set, and although the Dane subsequently had three opportunities to break straight back, he was unable to make the most of it.
Instead, the match was over 20 minutes later when Thompson served home the victory.