Lloyd Harris crashes out in first round of Australian Open

South Africa’s top singles hope, Lloyd Harris, was dumped out in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday after falling to Australian wild card entry Aleksandar Vukic on the opening day of competition at Melbourne Park.

Harris, the No 30 seed, won the first set against Vukic and looked ready for another solid start to the year’s first Grand Slam after reaching the third round last season.

Buoyed by the crowd, however, Vukic hit back hard, taking the next three sets to secure a 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-6 victory.

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The 25-year-old Australian progressed beyond the first round of a top-flight tournament for the first time in his career, while Harris failed to reach the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time in two years.

South Africa’s other entrant in the main singles draw in Melbourne, former world No 5 Kevin Anderson, will face No 23 seed Reilly Opelka of the United States in the first round later on Monday.

Doubles specialist Raven Klaasen will turn out later in the week alongside Japanese partner Ben McLachlan, with the duo entering the tournament as the No 13 seeds.