Cameron Norrie suffers first-round defeat as Brits face French Open wipeout

The British number one was beaten in five sets by Russian world number 56 Pavel Kotov, while there was also defeat for Harriet Dart

Cameron Norrie is out of the French Open (Alessandra Tarantino/AP) (AP)

British number one Cameron Norrie slumped out of the French Open in the first round to Russian Pavel Kotov.

Norrie, stuck on a sparsely-populated outside court on a cold and breezy Paris afternoon in a match delayed by rain, lost in five tight sets 4-6 6-3 3-6 7-6 (5) 6-2.

The 28-year-old, seeded 32, won five games in a row after trailing 4-1 to take the first set.

Twice Norrie led by a set but twice world number 56 Kotov hit back, taking the match to a decider in a tie-break.

Kotov raced into a 4-0 lead and Norrie was unable to peg him back as he bowed out at the first-round stage for the first time since 2020.

Norrie was joined on the British scrapheap by Harriet Dart, who lost 7-6 (3) 6-4 to Czech 27th seed Linda Noskova.

Defeats for Andy Murray and Jack Draper on Sunday means Britain’s hopes in singles now rest with Katie Boulter and Dan Evans, who play their first-round matches on Tuesday.