James Ward has suffered a three-set defeat to Zhang Ze in the opening qualifying round for the Citi Open.
Since reaching the Wimbledon third round, Ward had suffered three successive setbacks and that was extended to a fourth in Washington on Saturday.
The British number four started slowly and soon found himself a set behind to the world number 222, but he responded positively in the second to take the match into a decider.
The final set was evenly contested but in the ninth game, Zhang struck before serving out for a 6-4 5-7 6-4 triumph.
