Ons Jabeur, one of the better-positioned players to challenge for the French Open, has crashed out on the very first hurdle.
The Tunisian was beaten 3-6 7-6(4) 7-5 by Poland’s Magda Linette.
Jabeur was seen as one of the big threats to world number one Iga Swiatek at the claycourt Grand Slam.
She came to Paris with a career-high ranking and with a tour-leading 17 wins on the surface.
With Madrid Open crown under her and runner-up finishes in Rome and Charleston, it seemed like Jabeur would have an easy outing against Linette when she made a strong start on Court Philippe Chatrier under overcast skies.
The 27-year-old suffered an early break of serve before settling in and breezing through the opening set in 37 minutes before Linette, ranked 56th before the start of the second major of the year, struck back.
Linette, 30, who had only defeated Jabeur in the first of their four meetings back in 2013 staged an inspired fightback in the second set by saving four break points before leveling the match in the tiebreak.
Jabeur’s level dipped from there as her unforced error count climbed.
Linette, who lost to Jabeur in the third round last year, went up 4-2 in the third set but saw her advantage slip away when Jabeur broke her serve back to stay alive.
But the Pole sealed the first upset of the French Open over Ons Jabeur when the Tunisian wasted a 40-0 lead in the 12th game and found the net on match point to be broken for the second time in the set.
