Jack Draper suffered a first-round exit at the French Open, losing in five sets to Jesper de Jong in Roland-Garros on Sunday.
The 22-year-old British hopeful was aiming to reach the second round for the first time in Paris and set up a clash with world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz but fell for the second year running at the first hurdle.
Draper fell behind 2-0 in sets before rallying to take the next two – either side of a rain delay – to force a fifth-set decider, but ultimately fell to a 7-5 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 3-6 6-3 loss to De Jong.
Alcraraz cruises through opener | Rublev reaches second round
The 23-year-old Dutchman, ranked 177th in the world, will next face Alcaraz, who shrugged off any injury fears in breezing past JJ Wolf in straight sets on Sunday
The 21-year-old Spaniard’s participation at Roland-Garros had been in doubt due to an issue with his forearm that forced him to miss clay-court tournaments in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, with his Madrid title defence also derailed by the problem.
Alcaraz, a two-time major winner and semi-finalist in Paris last year, was in no obvious discomfort as he dropped only four games in winning 6-1 6-2 6-1 against 25-year-old American Wolf.
“I’m really happy to be back here in Paris to compete again,” Alcaraz said after his victory. “It’s been a very difficult month for me because I love competing.
“I’ve tried everything I could to be at 100 per cent, to show my best tennis, and I think I did that today.
“I would have loved to have played more matches but I don’t need too many matches to get to 100 per cent. I did really good preparation this past two weeks and practices with top players. My forearm is getting better and better.”
Sixth seed Andrey Rublev is safely through to the second round at Roland Garros
In a more challenging match, Russia’s Andrey Rublev, the sixth seed, rebounded from a second-set downturn to defeat Taro Daniel of Japan 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5 in three hours and 11 minutes.
Osaka overcomes early scare | Former champion Ostapenko through
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka survived an early scare when she laboured past unseeded Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-1 4-6 7-5 to claim her first French Open win in three years.
Naomi Osaka overcame a scare in her tournament opener against Lucia Bronzetti
Returning this year from a 15-month maternity break, Osaka had fallen in the first round at the Australian Open in January but looked set to breeze into the second round in Paris as the former world No 1 bombarded Bronzetti from the baseline in a 28-minute opening set.
However, after being forced into a decider, Osaka nearly imploded when throwing away a 4-0 lead before going on to clinch victory, setting up a potential clash with world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the second round if the reigning champion beats French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean on Monday.
“I’m honestly really excited,” Osaka told reporters. “I watched her [Swiatek] a lot when I was pregnant.
“And honestly, I think it’s an honour to play her in the French Open, because she’s won more than once here. It’s a very big honour and challenge for me.”
She added on her tournament-opening win: “There were moments I played pretty well, but I was nervous and got very tight in the third set.
“I’m pretty happy, but I would love to not have to go through that rollercoaster again.”
Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is through to the second round
Elsewhere, former French Open champion and ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko overcame a rusty start in both sets to beat Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-4 7-5 and reach the second round.
The Latvian, who claimed her lone Grand Slam title in Paris in 2017, won the final four games of the first set, but again fell behind to an early break in the second before rallying once more to wrap things up in straight sets.
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