St Petersburg, Russia, 20 September 2017 | tennis.com.au

John-Patrick Smith has gone down to local hope Mikhail Youzhny in the first round of the ATP 250 event in St Petersburg, Russia.

Smith, who qualified for the main draw, fought hard but fell 7-6(6) 6-4 to the 35-year-old, playing for the 16th time at the indoor event.

Youzhny beat Smith in their only other meeting at the US Open two years ago, and will go on to face No.3 seed Fabio Fognini.

Smith has qualified for the main draw at his past three tour-level events – Cincinnati, US Open and St Petersburg – and has won seven of his past 10 matches.