Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart crash out of French Open as British woes continue at Roland Garros
Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart both fell to first-round defeats at the French Open, with British singles players yet to register a victory in Paris.
British number one Norrie has never made it past the third round at Roland Garros and he fell at the first hurdle this time, the 32nd seed beaten 4-6 6-3 3-6 7-6 6-2 by Pavel Kotov in four hours and 13 minutes.
Norrie could not complete the job having twice held a set lead, and a fourth-set tie-break proved to be a key turning point. The 28-year-old lost five points on serve in a topsy-turvy breaker and, having been taking to a decider, Norrie swiftly found himself 4-0 down and could not recover.
"I'm pretty devastated with the result," Norrie said.
"I didn't play well at all but still think I had enough to win quite comfortably."
With Andy Murray and Jack Draper beaten on the first day of the tournament, it leaves Dan Evans as the only hope of British representation beyond the first round in the men’s draw. He faces a tough test against 13th seed Holger Rune.
Katie Boulter will also fly the British flag on Tuesday, when the 26th seed faces Spaniard Paula Badosa. Despite arriving in Paris ranked 28th in the world, Boulter has never won WTA main-draw match on clay.
Dart, making her first-round debut at the French Open, threatened a second-set fightback but joined Norrie in suffering an early exit on Monday, as Czech teenager Linda Noskova won 7-6 6-4.
Dart led 4-2 in the second set, only for back-to-back double faults and a wild backhand to gift Noskova a break to get it back on serve, and the Briton lost four games in a row in what was a tame conclusion to the match.