Taylor Fritz became the biggest casualty of the French Open so far on Monday, with the fourth seed beaten in his opening-round match at Roland Garros.
World No 4 Fritz never came close to discovering his best tennis out on Court Simonne-Mathieu, with the US Open runner-up falling 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to Daniel Altmaier.
It is a second top-10 win at the French Open for world No 66 Altmaier, with the German having stunned eighth seed Jannik Sinner in the second round back in 2023.
However, it is undoubtedly a disappointing loss for American ace Fritz, who has struggled with injury and consistency across the clay swing.
It is the first time since the 2022 US Open that he has lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam, and his ATP ranking will now suffer as a result.
French Open News
Chris Evert offers ruthless take on Novak Djokovic’s French Open hopes
Former world No 1 issues scathing Alexander Zverev verdict ahead of French Open
What ranking points will Fritz drop?
Fritz’s 2024 French Open campaign was the best of his career, with the US star reaching the second week at Roland Garros for the first time.
The American, seeded 12th at the time, was ultimately beaten in the fourth round by two-time runner-up Casper Ruud, though it was a breakthrough run for him at the second Grand Slam of the season.
Fritz earned 200 ranking points for his run to the round of 16, though, with only 10 points available in the opening round, will drop 190 points when the rankings update post-tournament.
That means the US star will fall from 4,675 points to 4,485 points, and he is guaranteed to fall out of the top four regardless of other results.
Who can take advantage?
Rankings wise, the big winner looks set to be world No 5 and Roland Garros fifth seed Jack Draper, who will not start his campaign until Tuesday.
Draper holds 4,610 ranking points and, with just opening-round points to defend at the tournament, is now guaranteed to be ranked above Fritz post-tournament.
The Brit is provisionally fourth in the live rankings, and he could become just the fourth British man to crack the top four, following Andy Murray, Tim Henman, and Greg Rusedski.
Draper will move to 4,650 points with a victory in his opening-round match against Mattia Bellucci on Tuesday, and would hypothetically hold 6,600 points with a run to the title.
That could be enough to move up to a high of world No 3, though he would need to both win the title and hope current world No 3 Alexander Zverev suffers an early exit.
Another player who could benefit from Fritz’s early defeat is world No 6 and sixth seed Djokovic, who also starts his campaign on Tuesday.
The Serbian holds 4,230 points in the official ATP Rankings and is defending 400 quarter-final points in Paris, which means he drops 390 points to 3,840 in the live rankings.
However, he would sit just 255 points behind Fritz if he were to defend his quarter-finalist points, and a run to the semi-final would see him also move ahead of the American.
Djokovic would hold 5,830 points if he were to win the title, potentially moving up to fourth, depending on Draper’s result.
Fritz’s exit is also good news for Lorenzo Musetti, the current world No 7 – who could also move above the American in the rankings.
Seeded eighth in Paris, the Italian is in the Fritz quarter of the draw and is now arguably the favourite to reach the semi-final.
Read Next: T365 Fantasy French Open predictions: Alcaraz ‘has the edge’ as Sabalenka ‘the player to beat’
The post Taylor Fritz set for major rankings blow after shock French Open exit appeared first on Tennis365.