Gael Monfils‘ eyes filled with his tears as he spoke to reporters after his seventh consecutive tour-level loss — and the first time he’s exited the Australian Open in his opening match in 15 years.
The 10th-seeded Frenchman is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, but he can’t seem to win anywhere at the moment. It’s been a year since his last victory.
The latest setback for Monfils came on Day 1 at Melbourne Park, beaten by 86th-ranked Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Ruusuouri was playing only his fourth career match at a Grand Slam tournament.
Also Monday, U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem moved into the second round at the Australian Open, where he was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic a year ago.
The No. 3-seeded Thiem needed about a set to get going en route to a 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3 win over 90th-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.
Thiem had been 0-3 in Grand Slam finals until emerging for the championship at Flushing Meadows in September. That ended a run of 13 consecutive major titles for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The only American man seeded at Melbourne Park, No. 27 Taylor Fritz, also advanced on Day 1. The 23-year-old Californian got past Albert Ramos-Viñolas 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
This is the first time since 2015 that only one man from the U.S. was among the top 32 players in the field in Australia.
No. 14 Milos Raonic was the first man to finish the first round, beating Federico Coria 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
American Reilly Opelka hit 18 aces and beat Lu Yen-hsun 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.