Arthur Fery failed to replicate his Wimbledon heroics as he marked his return to the court with a straight-sets defeat by fifth seed Alex de Minaur in the Cincinnati Open on Monday.
Fery, who shot into the world's top 50 after his stunning run to the semi-final at the All England Club, was playing his first match since that improbable run was ended at the hands of Alexander Zverev.
And Fery showed signs of the same fighting quality as he hit back from 5-1 down in the second set to force a tie-break, before ultimately falling to a 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) defeat.
The match was subject to three rain delays as the weather continued to play havoc with the schedule in Ohio, although there were earlier wins for Flavio Cobolli and Novak Djokovic's conqueror Thiago Agustin Tirante.
In the women's competition, seventh seed Iga Swiatek stormed back from a bad start, winning 12 of the last 14 games to defeat Maria Sakkari of Greece 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Second seed Elena Rybakina cruised through against Poland's Magdalena Frech, while there were also wins for Sorana Cirstea and Diane Parry.