SA's Lloyd Harris out of French Open after 1st round defeat to Richard Gasquet

It was a first-round encounter to forget for Lloyd Harris at the French Open on Tuesday. 

South Africa's top-ranked tennis player was knocked out of the clay court tournament, going down in straight sets 1-6, 3-6, 4-6 to Richard Gasque of France after rain delayed their match late on Monday.

The Frenchman dominated the opening exchanges on Monday evening as he broke Harris' first two service games to race into a 4-0 lead that set him to claim the first set 6-1.

Gasquet's domination of the first set was compounded by Harris's making 20 unforced errors.

The second set saw Gasquet again break Harris' serve to take an early lead but the match was suspended at around 21:45 after the rain started to fall in Paris.

The match resumed on Tuesday with Gasquet remaining in complete control as he reeled off the second set 6-3 and the third 6-4 for an emphatic win in front of his home fans. 

Richard Gasquet wins a long rally with a beautiful backhand winner down the line to defeat Lloyd Harris 6-1, 6-3, 6-4. Overall a great match from the French, who looked pretty comfortable. Possible R2 meeting with Sebi Korda in #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/tkVzyl2Ptk