He last won a match at the Mutua Madrid Open in April. On Wednesday, he had 11 winners and 11 unforced errors, while the Italian struck 26 winners but was upended by 33 unforced errors.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (21) of France, the seventh seed, outlasted Chinese wild card Fajing Sun (27) 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and 28 minutes. It was the second hard-court win this season for Mpetshi Perricard.
In the day's other match, Lukas Klein (26) became the first Slovakian to win a match at the Chengdu event with his 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Adam Walton (25) of Australia. Klein was helped by 12 aces.
Hangzhou Open
Marin Cilic (35), sidelined most of the season following knee surgery, recorded a win in his first ATP Tour match played since February, defeating Zachary Svajda (21) 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 in China.
Cilic, who turns 36 later this month, is a 20-time tour winner who reached No. 3 in the world in mid-2018. The Croatian used 14 aces and seven service breaks to come from a set down against Svaida.
In other action, Mikhail Kukushkin (36) of Kazakhstan upset Italy's Luciano Darderi (22), the fifth seed, 6-3, 6-4.
Hungary's Fabian Marozsan (24), the seventh seed, topped Luca Nardi (21) of Italy 6-0, 6-2.