Lloyd Harris banks R1.6 million after French Open Round 1 loss
South Africa's No 1 Lloyd Harris put in a brave performance in his first round match at the French Open at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
Ultimately, the 27-year-old went down 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 against Russian 17th-seed Andrey Rublev.
The match out on Court 7 lasted two hours and 24 minutes.
Harris can console himself with a cheque for €78 000 (R1 586 832) following his opening round exit.
Harris had qualified for the men's singles draw of this year's French Open after a determined run through the qualifying rounds.
Harris, currently ranked a lowly 330th in the world, battled through three tough matches on the clay courts of Paris, showcasing his growing comfort on the surface that has traditionally been his weakest.
In his final qualifying match, Harris defeated Croatia's Marin Cilic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, using his powerful serve and baseline aggression to overcome early nerves and seal the win.
In his earlier qualifiers, Harris beat Finland's Otto Virtanen 6-4, 7-5 and Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Hüsler 6-4, 6-2.
Harris and Rublev have now faced each other three times at ATP Tour level – with Rublev having triumphed on every occasion.
This latest defeat was the first time that Harris had managed to win a set against Rublev.
Their first encounter came in 2020 in the final in Adelaide on hard court where Rublev won 6-3, 6-0.
A year later they faced off in the Round of 64 on the grass at Wimbledon where Rublev won 6-1, 6-2, 7-5.
Harris's best French Open result to date remains second-round appearances in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Rublev will now face unseeded Australian Adam Walton in the second round.
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