Tennis-Rublev crashes out in first round to Grand Slam debutant Comesana

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 2, 2024 Russia's Andrey Rublev in action during his first round match against Australia's Francisco Comesana REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

LONDON (Reuters) - Russian sixth-seed Andrey Rublev crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round on Tuesday, losing 6-4 5-7 6-2 7-6(5) to world No.122 Francisco Comesana of Argentina, playing his first ever match at a Grand Slam.

Comesana belied his lack of experience, playing with poise and control from the start. The 23-year-old broke his opponent for a 3-2 lead in the first set and then held to win it, much to the frustration of Rublev, who frequently screamed out loud and remonstrated with his courtside coaching team.

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 2, 2024 Australia's Francisco Comesana shakes hands with Russia's Andrey Rublev after winning his first round match REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Rublev broke early in the second and began to assert himself, frequently wrong-footing Comesana or drawing him into long rallies and overpowering him with powerful forehand shots.

Comesana fought his way back from three set points down twice in the second set before losing it.

But the Argentinian, who fired down 21 aces in all, powered through the rain-interrupted third set and narrowly outdid Rublev for guile and accuracy in the fourth before drawing an unforced error from the Russian to finish the match in style. (This story has been corrected to remove the reference to Tuesday being Comesana's first match on the ATP Tour, in the headline and in paragraph 1)

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 2, 2024 Australia's Francisco Comesana in action during his first round match against Russia's Andrey Rublev REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

(Reporting by Hugh Lawson; Editing by Alison Williams)