Hong Kong, 13 October 2018 | AAP

Daria Gavrilova’s quest to claim the Hong Kong Open foundered at the quarterfinal stage.

The tournament’s seventh seed was bundled out in straight sets by unseeded Chinese opponent Zhang Shuai 6-1 6-3 in a lopsided centre court encounter on Friday.

Gavrilova, runner-up in Hong Kong last year, was unable to establish a rhythm from the outset and offered little resistance as Zhang closed out a straightforward victory.

She fired down five aces, converted six break points and reeled off seven straight games to end the 24-year-old world No.34’s title hopes.

In other quarterfinal action Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska defeated Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova 7-6(6) 6-2 in a battle between two unseeded players.