Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev suffered a shock exit on what was a sweltering opening day of action at this year's Wimbledon.
Ninth seed and six-time Grand Slam finalist Medvedev has endured a dismal year at the majors, losing in the Australian Open second round and French Open first round before his Wimbledon flop.
The Russian looked out of sorts on the way to 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 loss to the French world No 64, which ended with him taking his frustrations out on his racquets, chair and bag.
Temperatures at the All England Club reached 31º Celsius in what was the hottest opening day on record at the London Slam – and the Russian was certainly made to feel the heat on Court 2.
“I was surprised by his level … there was not much I could do,” said Medvedev, who reached the final at this month's Halle grass-court event. “Even when I played good shots today, he had an answer.
“I had a great week of preparation because I come in with confidence after Halle.
“I literally won every practice set I played. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter for the match. The match is a new story.
“First round, for sure many, many times you play a bit worse. If it would be second or third round, maybe I could have had better shots, play better.”
In the women's draw, world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka was made to work in the second set of her victory over Canada's Carson Branstine.
Belarusian Sabalenka, who was beaten by Coco Gauff in the French Open final earlier this month, coasted through the opener in a little under 25 minutes.
But the 24-year-old qualifier produced a much improved performance in the second before eventually going down 6-1, 7-5 on Court 1.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka has reached the semi-finals twice at the All England club but faces a tricky run, which could potentially pit her against Elina Svitolina in the fourth round and Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the quarter-finals.
“I'm super happy to be back, to be healthy and to compete at this beautiful tournament,” she said in her on-court interview.
“I was really depressed last year that I couldn't feel this atmosphere and I'm super happy with the performance. I feel like I'm in a good place.”
Sabalenka also described how practicing with seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and world No 1 Jannik Sinner before the tournament had sharpened her game.
“It's amazing,” she said. “You play with them and you look on that side and you see the difference. You see the different approach to the balls. You're learning.
“I think automatically you start reflecting what's happening on that side. I think it really helped my tennis, to be honest.
“Now there are some balls that I used to struggle a little. Right now, I kind of understand a little bit better how to adjust to those balls.
“I feel like even today in the match and in the practice after hitting with the guys, I felt like I improved a couple of things in my game.
“I'm super happy that I was able to hit with them because I learn a lot.”
Svitolina, meanwhile, sailed into the next round after the Ukrainian 14th seed dispatched Hungary's Anna Bondar 6-3, 6-1, while American Keys was made to work for her 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania.
Latvian 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko suffered a surprise first-round exit after losing in three sets to home hope Sonay Kartal on a boisterous Court 3.
Ostapenko, a former French Open champion and Wimbledon semi-finalist, cut a frustrated figure during her 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 loss, complaining to the umpire about crowd noise and shouting at group of fans to shut up at one point.
The British No 3 – who reached Round 3 in 2024 before losing to Gauff – described the win as “by far one of the toughest matches I've played” and thanked the crowd for her support.
Ostapenko had beaten Kartal comfortably in the opening round at Eastbourne last week.
On her run last year, Kartal added: “It was probably one of the best tournaments I've ever had and my most favourite.
“I left here last year feeling a much more confident player, on and off the court. I knew my level was there but I had to force it out of myself.
“Throughout this whole year, I've felt I'm playing better and improving each week so I want to see how far I can go.”
