Kyle Edmund earns crack at Andy Murray after strengthening spot in world's top 50

British No 2 Edmund beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets.

The 21-year-old, who provisionally moved into the top 50 after beating Guiilermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round in China, claimed a 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory against the world No 18.

A tight contest was settled in game seven of the third set, with qualifier Edmund breaking Bautista and then holding serve to seal another impressive win.

Murray saw off Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2 6-1 in Beijing, where there was also progress for Johanna Konta in the women’s singles.

World No 2 Murray continued his return to action since suffering a thigh injury playing for Great Britain in the Davis Cup with another composed display to defeat the Russian without too much cause for concern, completing his victory in one hour and 17 minutes.

The Davis Cup team-mates, who meet tomorrow, have met in competitive action just once, in the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club earlier this year, where Murray won 6-4 3-6 6-1.

British women’s No 1 Konta is through to the third round of the WTA China Open after beating Timea Babos in straight sets.

Konta claimed a 7-5 6-2 victory over the Hungarian to boost her chances of reaching the WTA Finals in Singapore later this month.