Dan Evans has suffered a three-set defeat to Peter Polansky in the second round of the Knoxville Challenger.
The British number three had been hoping to defend the title which he won 12 months ago but he went down 1-6 7-6 6-2 to the Canadian.
The Birmingham-based player saved seven break points on his way to taking the opening set but Polansky matched him in the second and eventually edged a tie-break 7-5.
It was one-way traffic in the decider as Evans won just three points on his opponent's serve, and he bowed out tamely in two hours and eight minutes.
It was a second successive British scalp for Polansky after he defeated Liam Broady in the first round.