Cape Town - Rising South African tennis star Lloyd Harris bowed out of the Chengdu Open in China on Saturday after losing his semi-final encounter against Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik.
Bublik, the world No 71, beat the 111th-ranked Harris in two tight sets, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.
Harris was playing in his first ever semi-final at ATP Tour level - the top level of men's professional tennis.
The 22-year-old Capetonian will nevertheless be chuffed with his efforts this week - he lost in qualifying but entered the main draw as a "lucky loser" for the ATP 250 event.
Harris then beat Hungary's Marton Fucsovics (4-6, 6-4, 6-2), fifth-seeded Serbian Dusan Lajovic (6-3, 6-3) and Portugal's Joao Sousa (6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4) to reach the last four.
The South African has made great strides this year by qualifying for the main draws of all four Grand Slam events.
He also won his first Grand Slam match at the French Open when he defeated Czech qualifier Lukas Rosol 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 in a five-set classic at Roland Garros.
He achieved a career-high ranking of 82nd in July.