| Dates: May 28 – June 11 Premises: Roland Garros, Paris |
| Reception: Live text and radio commentary on selected matches on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, on the BBC Sport website and app |
Briton Dan Evans said his concentration was “kicked out” due to an unusual foot error in his French Open first round loss to Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis.
He was a breakout in the second set when he was penalized for crossing the halfway line while serving in a 6-4 6-4 6-4 loss.
Although he said it “wasn’t anywhere near the reason” he lost, it nevertheless turned the momentum back to Kokkinakis.
“I lost confidence in where my feet were,” said the 20th seed.
“But I was at the bottom of the drawer from start to finish, and he was decent.”
Britain’s number two men Evans won his first Roland Garros title last year but has now suffered his fifth loss in six matches in the first round of a Grand Slam clay court tournament.
“It’s been a difficult day, that’s really the most important thing. I was poor from start to finish,” said Evans, 33.
“(Thanasi) took advantage of it. He served well. It’s really frustrating and that’s all.”
Only two Britons remain in the draw – Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie.
With Emma Raducanu injured, there are no Brits in women’s singles after seven defeats in qualifiers.
‘It’s a tough sport’ – Evans frustrated at failing to make world top 20
Evans has long had a relationship with red dirt, but going into this year’s French Open, he said he felt “very prepared”.
The clay court swing started promisingly for world No. 25, leading to the semi-finals in Marrakesh and Barcelona.
However, he lost his opening matches in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome – the biggest tournaments before Roland Garros – before heading to Paris.
In warm and lively conditions against Kokkinakis with a wildcard, Evans was unable to beat the Australian, who used his powerful serve and forehand to push the Brit behind the baseline.
His serve came under pressure midway through the first set as the Briton saved four break points in the 11-minute game to stay at 3-2 before his resistance came to an end when he served.
A single break proved crucial in the opening, but Evans reset early in the second to take a 4-1 lead as he looked in a good position to equalize.
But Evans was annoyed to be penalized for a foot error when he was leading 4-2, 30-0, and the double fault returned momentum to Kokkinakis, who sits 108th.
“Obviously it threw me off a bit because it just completely dumped me and where I was serving from back then,” he said.
“My technique was thrown away. It’s a very small thing, but it’s become a pretty big thing in my head.”
Evans lost another four points as the Aussie broke in that match and then, after the 20th seed, showed his anger by breaking a water bottle during a substitution, he played a set, winning five games in a row.
With growing exasperation, Evans threw a serve to make it 3-2 in the deciding game and seemed to lose faith in it.
However, he managed to salvage the break at 4-4 but was immediately broken down to 5-4 with Kokkinakis retaining control to seal the win.
Evans later said it was “frustrating” not to break into the top 20 in the world after spending most of the last three years in the top 30.
“I’m trying to do what I think is right to get there, but obviously it’s not paying off,” he said.
“It is hard. It’s a difficult sport. This is the basis”.
