Samantha Stosur's quest for yet another title in Japan has come crashing to a halt with a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 4-6 loss to Swiss eighth seed Belinda Bencic at the Pan Pacific Open women's tennis tournament in Tokyo.
After holding her nerve to take the first set in a tiebreaker, Stosur couldn't continue to match it with the rising Swiss star.
Bencic broke early in the second set, making use of her only break point and did the same in the final set and, despite Stosur getting one of two breaks back, the Swiss made her way into the quarter-finals.
It was Bencic's first win against Stosur, who lost despite hitting 13 aces.
The result will come as a disappointment to Stosur who possesses a tremendous record in Japan.
Stosur is a three-time winner of the HP Open in Osaka, an event she missed this year despite being the two-time defending champion.
Stosur won that event in 2009, 2013 and 2014 and lost the 2011 final to French Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli.
Bencic goes on to play another young gun in the quarter-finals, Spain's Garbine Muguruza.
Muguruza beat Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-3 6-4 on Wednesday to advance to the quarters.
The third-seeded Muguruza saved 11 of 14 break points to dispatch Strycova in one hour and 45 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.
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