Rotterdam - French third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga suffered a shock 7-6 4-6 6-4 defeat by Dutch wildcard Igor Sijsling in the first round of the World Indoor Tournament on Monday.
The 27-year-old Tsonga squandered five breakpoints before surrendering the first set 7-3 in the tiebreak but appeared to have gained control of the match when he levelled the contest at one-set all.
But Tsonga's serve, which had produced 14 aces, collapsed in the 10th game of decisive set and that allowed his 77th-ranked opponent to pull off an unlikely victory.
"I can't say I played bad tennis but on this kind of surface matches are always tight," Tsonga, the highest seed in action on Monday in a tournament headed by Roger Federer, told reporters.
"It is disappointing to drop out early at such a big tournament."
Tsonga's compatriot Gilles Simon eased past German Daniel Brands with a 7-6 6-4.
Both players dropped their serve twice before Simon clinched the tiebreak and won the second to set up a second round match with Italian qualifier Matteo Viola.
Follow Sport24 on Twitter and Facebook
24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.
Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
David Ferrer
He's without peer on clay. Easy victory for him
Some rank outsider will shock him...
View Results | Vote Archive
69% Novak Djokovic
5% Roger Federer
4% David Ferrer
15% He's without peer on clay. Easy victory for him
7% Some rank outsider will shock him...
Vote Archive
GEN De la Rey says, with many of his Bulls favourites blossoming in Super Rugby, 2013 will be the year Heyneke Meyer will impress with the Springboks.
Twitter Follow Sport24 on Twitter
Newsletters Sign up for Sport24's Morning Glory newsletter
Blogs Yes your opinion counts. Get it out there
WIN Enter and win with Sport24!
Mobile Sport24 on your mobile phone - WAP, alerts, downloads, services
BlackBerry Stay in the loop on your BlackBerry
iPhone Latest Sport24 news on your iPhone
Facebook "Like" Sport24's Facebook page
TV schedule Plan your couch time with our searchable sport TV guide
RSS Feeds Sport news delivered really simply.