British number one Kyle Edmund lost to American world number 82 Denis Kudla in the first round of the Munich Open, his third straight defeat.

Fifth seed Edmund was beaten 6-4 6-3 in the first ATP meeting between the pair.

Defeat continued an ordinary start to the clay-court season for Edmund, whose only win has been against French youngster Ugo Humbert in Marrakech.

Edmund went out to former Grand Slam finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, then lost in Monte Carlo to Diego Schwartzman.

Now ranked 22nd in the world, the 24-year-old Englishman was unable to turn around his form on a surface on which he has good pedigree against Kudla, who dominated to win in just one hour and seven minutes.

The 26-year-old ended his own losing of streak of five matches by taking three of 10 break points, while Edmund did not manage to muster any opportunities on Kudla’s serve.