Paris: Gael Monfils was sent packing in the first round of the Paris Masters on Monday when he slumped to a 2-6 7-6(7) 6-4 defeat by fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire.
Monfils, the world number 20, seemed to be cruising towards a straightforward victory in the renovated Bercy Hall after opening up a 6-2 4-0 lead. But then he lost focus.
Paire forced a tiebreak, which he won 9-7, and broke decisively in the ninth game of the third set, finishing it off on his first match point with an ace.
Next in line for Paire is another Frenchman, Gilles Simon.
Young talents Bernard Tomic of Australia and Dominic Thiem of Austria both advanced to the second round, where they will meet fourth seed Stan Wawrinka and 11th seed Kevin Anderson respectively.
World number one Novak Djokovic will open his title defence on Tuesday in a second-round match against Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.
In Hong Kong, top seed Venus Williams opened the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy in southern China with a tight three-sets win over fellow American Madison Keys on Tuesday.
The seven-time Grand Slam-winner came from a set down to win 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 as she seeks to end her season with a 48th career title.
The Elite Trophy, which follows last week’s WTA Finals for the top eight women, is a new event featuring the players ranked nine-20 and held at a purpose-built facility in Zhuhai, which borders Macau.
The initial draw selected four pots of three players also including Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic who will compete for the $2.5 million (Dh9 million) purse.
Williams, aged 35 and ranked 11th in the world, is enjoying an Indian summer in her career exemplified by her victory at last month’s Wuhan Open.
