French Open 2020: Britain's Cameron Norrie & Liam Broady lose in first round
- Published
Liam Broady had come through three rounds of qualifying to reach the French Open main draw
There will be no Britons in the French Open men's singles second round after defeats for Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady on Monday.
Andy Murray and Dan Evans had already made first-round exits on Sunday.
Norrie had his chances in a 4-6 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 defeat by Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan, while Broady gave a good account of himself against Jiri Vesely.
Broady, in his first appearance in the Roland Garros main draw, lost 6-2 5-7 6-3 6-2 to the Czech.
Heather Watson remains the only British player in the women's singles with the 28-year-old getting her campaign under way on Tuesday against Italy's Fiona Ferro. British number one Johanna Konta was another first-round casualty on Sunday.
Norrie lets lead slip twice
It had looked as if Norrie was on course for a straightforward victory under the floodlights in Paris when he raced to a 5-0 lead.
But the 25-year-old allowed world number 153 Galan back into the set by losing two service games in a row and squandering five set points at 5-2, and that was to be the story of his night.
The world number 72 eventually sealed the opener but his 24-year-old Colombian opponent continued to exert pressure and got an early break to take control of the second set.
Norrie let slip a 3-0 lead in the third and found himself needing to break Galan to stay in the set at 5-4. He won three games in a row to re-establish his one-set lead but then crumbled in a rapid fourth set, managing just three winners and winning only 44% of first-serve points.
He had two break points in the third game of the fifth but when they did not go his way the match quickly ran away from him and he bowed out when he sent a forehand service return wide.
Broady fights hard but falls short
British number six Broady had already come through three rounds of qualifying to secure his spot in the Roland Garros main draw and earned himself a guaranteed 60,000 euros (£54,000) as a first-round loser.
After losing the first set to Vesely, the world number 207 threatened to turn the match around when he took the second and then went a break up in the third.
But he ran out of momentum and never recovered from being broken in the sixth game of the third set.
Vesely strung together five games in a row to seal that set and take the advantage in the fourth, keeping up a consistency that showed why he was ranked 139 places higher than the Briton.
"The performance today, there's probably one word - disappointing," Broady said.
"I felt like I could do better out there today. Obviously Jiri is a seasoned pro, he's got a great serve, and doesn't make it easy to put your game on the court.
"Obviously, to see the bigger picture I'm pleased with my run over the last week or two. I just wish I could have pushed it a bit further in the main draw."