Lloyd Harris crashes out in opening round of French Open

South Africa’s run in the singles competition at the French Open came to a crashing halt when lone contender Lloyd Harris fell at the first hurdle on Tuesday.

Harris had been trailing in the second set on Monday when his match against French opponent Richard Gasquet was suspended overnight due to rain.

Returning to the court on Tuesday afternoon, the 25-year-old South African put up a stronger fight against Gasquet, but he ultimately lost in straight sets.

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Gasquet, a former Olympic bronze medallist, secured a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 victory to reach the second round.

In his fourth appearance in the main draw at Roland Garros, Harris failed to progress beyond the opening round for the first time at the top-flight clay court tournament.

Though he was knocked out of the singles contest, however, the US Open quarter-finalist will turn out again this week in the men’s doubles competition.

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Harris will join Israeli veteran Jonathan Herlich, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, as they take on No 10 seeds Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil in the first round.

Two-time Grand Slam doubles finalist Raven Klaasen will also join the South African charge, in the hunt for his first major title.

Klaasen and Dutch player Robin Haase will take on the wild card French pairing of Hugo Gaston and Gilles Simon in the opening round.