Austrian world number four Dominic Thiem surrendered a two-set lead in his French Open tie against Spaniard Pablo Andujar to suffer a shock first-round elimination on Sunday. The 27-year-old won the first two sets 6-4 and 7-5 before the 68-ranked Andujar rallied back with 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 wins in the final three sets. 

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Thiem, who won the US Open in September last year, fired 66 winners against Andujar’s 46, but committed 61 unforced errors, 17 more than the 35-year-old. The win was the first in Andujar’s 17-year career that he managed after trailing by two sets. 

“It’s a very special moment because I’m 35 and I don’t know how long I’m going to play. I had to believe to be able to get this result,” Andujar was quoted as saying in his post-match comments by AFP. “It was very difficult, in the third set he wasn’t quite as strong.”

Thiem’s loss sealed a first-ever opening-round elimination at the Roland Garros and the first time he has failed to reach at least the quarter-finals of the tournament since 2015.

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The Austrian lost both the 2018 and 2019 finals to 13-time champion Rafael Nadal, but did win his maiden Grand Slam title last year at the US Open.

His form had been patchy this season, though, having lost to Lorenzo Sonego in Rome and Cameron Norrie in Lyon over the past two weeks.

Andujar, the world number 68, had not beaten a top-10 player since 2015 until a win over Roger Federer in Geneva last week.

“Probably that win helped today,” he said. “I didn’t think I was in my best shape, but the belief was the key to the win today.”

Andujar will face either Argentina’s Federico Delbonis or Moldovan Radu Albot in the second round.

It will be an especially bitter blow for Thiem, though, after the 27-year-old had been placed in the opposite half of the draw to Nadal, world number one Novak Djokovic and Federer.