Madrid, April 16 -- British number three Cameron Norrie has suffered a first-round exit at the Barcelona Open as he prepares for the start of the French Open this month.
Norrie, now ranked 88 in the world rankings and who came through qualifying in Barcelona, was beaten 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-3 by 27th-ranked Karen Khachanov of Russia.
Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Norrie, 29, saved a set point on his way to winning the first set on
a tie-break, and led 4-3 with a break in the second, the BBC reported.
But Khachanov came back to progress in two hours and 18 minutes and will face Jaume Munar of Spain in the next round.
Earlier, Carlos Alcaraz was forced to work hard to beat underdog Ethan Quinn to reach the last 16.
The world number two was ...