Su-Wei Hsieh defeated Laura Robson in three sets to keep Britain waiting for a first singles winner of a WTA Tour event since 1988.
British number one edged out in topsy-turvy final
Laura Robson's quest to become the first British winner of a WTA Tour event since 1988 has been prolonged after Su-Wei Hsieh edged a dramatic final in Guangzhou.
The British number one was left to rue a missed opportunity after she let a 3-0 lead slip in the deciding set to lose 6-3 5-7 6-4.
Robson was not even born the last time Britain had a female singles finalist - Jo Durie in 1990 - but Sara Gomer's reign as the last British winner 24 years ago remains.
It has nevertheless been a brilliant week for Robson, who has built on her superb run to the fourth round of the US Open and will climb into the world's top 70 for the first time on Monday.
Wily
The London-based teenager beat three top-50 players on her way to the final, and she made the perfect start with a break of serve in the third game, Hsieh struggling to deal with the teenager's power.
But the player from Chinese Taipei is a wily opponent and, with Robson struggling for consistency on her serve and forehand, Hsieh reeled off four games in a row and quickly wrapped up the opening set.
Robson was given some words of advice and encouragement from new coach Zeljko Krajan and responded by winning the first two games of the second set only for Hsieh to hit back with another run of four straight games.
Hsieh was reading her opponent's game extremely well now, offering the teenager very little pace and never the same ball twice, but Robson dug very deep to save five match points on her serve at 3-5.
That still left her opponent serving for the match but the British left-hander had a new confidence about her and she turned the tables to win three games in a row and level the match.
Twist
It was a crushing blow for Hsieh and another example of what makes Robson so exciting, and it got better for the Londoner as she made it seven straight games to move 3-0 up in the decider.
Hsieh was not finished, though, and for the third time in the match she put together a run of four straight games, and then added a fifth.
Robson again forced her to serve it out, but this time there was no twist, Hsieh clinching victory on her sixth match point when her opponent drilled a backhand wide after two hours and 47 minutes.
There was better news, though, in Tokyo, where British number two Heather Watson beat higher-ranked Czech Andrea Hlavackova to qualify for the main draw.
