Dominic Thiem, twice a losing finalist at Roland Garros, suffered a sensational first round upset at the French Open as the Spanish veteran Pablo Andujar, ranked 68 in the world, recovered from two sets down to pull off arguably the biggest win of his career.
In a match of relentless twists and turns, Thiem, the US Open champion and fourth seed, looked unbeatable one moment and awful the next, establishing a seemingly unassailable lead only for his game to unravel in a manner as spectacular as it was inexplicable.
In stark contrast to the Austrian, Andujar was a model of patient consistency, maintaining his level and belief to retrieve a two-set deficit for the first time in his life. After the final point, he sank incredulously to his knees – before the onset of cramp, the consequence of a punishing contest that extended over four hours and 28 minutes, rapidly returned him to his feet.
“I am very surprised, but I believed until the end,” said Andujar, who described the 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory as “a gift” to rank alongside his recent win over Roger Federer at the Geneva Open.
“This is very special for me because I’m 35, so I don’t know how long I will be here.”
Having recovered from a career-threatening injury, the Spaniard is not unfamiliar with improbable comebacks. Five years ago, Andujar underwent the first of three elbow operations in a 13-month period that sent the former world No 32’s ranking tumbling to outside the top 1,800. Within a year of his return, he had won an ATP 250 event in Marrakech.
It was that same dogged refusal to submit to the seemingly inevitable that saw Andujar home against Thiem, for whom defeat marks a fresh low in his battle to overcome what has been a prolonged hangover from last year’s success.
Having taken a two-month break from the game in an effort to overcome the physical and mental fatigue that followed last year’s breakthrough victory in New York and subsequent run at the ATP Tour Finals, Thiem reached the last four in Madrid only to lose two of his next three matches. More soul-searching will follow this setback.
“The game was just not there today,” said Thiem. “All the shots are missing power, they’re not accurate enough and I’m not moving well enough. So like everything in my game, there’s some percents missing. I don’t really know why … how I moved and everything was just not the real me, I would say.
“It’s just not good enough at the moment and it’s a very tough situation.”
Thiem began solidly against an opponent he had beaten in each of their previous three meetings. He won the first set, weathering a mini crisis at 5-4 in the second, when he dropped serve after holding a set point, and seemed to be on course for a routine first round victory.
Andujar, however, still riding high after beating Federer in his own backyard a fortnight ago, refused to let his head drop. Experience has taught the 35-year-old to play the point rather than the player, and his perseverance was rewarded when he capitalised on a poor service game by Thiem to reel off three straight games and take the third set.
From there, Thiem’s level dropped alarmingly. As the Austrian began splaying shots wide and long, Andujar made hay, at one stage claiming 12 out of 14 points as he moved a double break ahead. Thiem looked nonplussed and, though he retrieved a break and even looked likely to steady the ship when he earned a break point with Andujar serving for the set at 5-4, the Spaniard was not to be denied, pounding down his third ace before closing out the game.
Thiem began the fifth set in wretched fashion, a litany of errors handing Andujar a break that put the Spaniard ahead for the first time in the match. Briefly, Thiem rallied. He broke back with a backhand pass of violent ferocity and, when he produced a wonderful improvised shot from behind his back in the next game, it felt like a turning point. It was not to be.
With Thiem out and Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer all in the opposite half of the draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas’ prospects of making a first final in Paris improved without him striking a ball. The Greek fifth seed beat Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (7-6), 6-3, 6-1.
Also through in the lower half is Alexander Zverev, although the German was made to work hard for his victory. The sixth seed prevailed against fellow countryman Oscar Otte 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0.
A clay-court campaign that began with much promise for Britain’s Dan Evans ended in anti-climax with a first round loss to Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic. Evans, who beat Novak Djokovic en route to the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters last month, started strongly before falling to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 defeat. “It is a dire end to a decent clay-court season,” said Evans, the 25th seed.
Fabio Fognini, the 27th seed, came through against wild card Gregoire Barrere 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 and will face Martin Fucsovics in round two after the Hungarian beat former world No 6 Gilles Simon in straight sets.
Elsewhere, top seed Novak Djokovic beat Slovakia’s Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-3 to win the Belgrade Open. He will now travel to Paris, where he will open his campaign against the 66th-ranked American Tennys Sandgren.