Rotterdam Open: Daniil Medvedev misses out on chance to become World No 2 after first-round exit

Rotterdam: Daniil Medvedev became the latest big name to fall in the first round of the Rotterdam ATP after losing in straight sets 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to Dusan Lajovic. The world number three was the top seed for this week’s tournament after arriving in the Netherlands following his run to the Australian Open final but was dumped out in just over 90 minutes by Serbian Lajovic, currently ranked 27th. Russian Medvedev threw his racket down in a fury after being broken in game nine of the second set, having a row with the umpire and starting the final game with a point penalty as a result. The outburst came towards the end of a tense performance from the 25-year-old which featured eight double faults and 25 unforced errors. A calm Lajovic served out the 10th game to set up a second-round clash with Borna Coric. The defeat was painful for Medvedev as he would have taken number two spot in the world rankings from Rafael Nadal, who withdrew from the tournament with a back injury, had he reached the final. Medvedev joins world number seven and Alexander Zverev and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka in exiting the tournament early. Zverev, 23, was dumped out by Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik on Wednesday in a shock straight sets 7-5, 6-3 defeat. Bublik, who reached the final of last week’s tournament in Singapore, will face Tommy Paul in the second round after the American defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-6 (9/7). Wawrinka was knocked out on Tuesday after losing in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 to Russia’s Karen Khachanov.