Monday 15 April 2019 20:28, UK
British No 1 Kyle Edmund suffered a collapse at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters after losing 12 of the last 13 games to suffer a 4-6 6-3 6-1 first-round defeat to Diego Schwartzman.
In a match lasting just over two hours on Court Rainier III in Monaco, Schwartzman fought back in the second set as he won nine consecutive games to turn the match around.
Edmund, who was knocked out of last week's Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the second round stage, took the first set in 50 minutes against his Argentinian opponent, clinching it 6-4 in the 10th game against serve.
The 17th-seeded Brit raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set but Schwartzman hit back to level matters at 3-3 before going on to claim it 6-3.
The Argentine continued to dominate as he won the first three games of the third set - to extend his winning streak to nine games - before Edmund briefly stopped the rot to make it 3-1, but Schwartzman won the next three games to seal the win.
Next up for Schwartzman is a clash with the winner of the match between Tsonga and Taylor Fritz which is first on court on Tuesday.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal will face compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut after the world No 22 recovered from losing the first set to ease past Australia's John Millman 3-6 6-1 6-1.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic will face a repeat encounter against Philipp Kohlschreiber, who defeated the Serbian in straight sets at Indian Wells last month, following the German's 6-1 6-3 win against Japan's lucky loser Taro Daniel.
Meanwhile, Denis Shapovalov became the first high-profile exit as the Canadian 15th seed lost 5-7 6-3 6-1 to Germany's Jan Jennard-Struff.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka defeated France's Lucas Pouille 7-5 6-3 to set up a second round encounter with last year's French Open semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato after his opponent Damir Dzumhur retired injured when trailing 4-0 in the first set.
Fabio Fognini defeated qualifier Andrey Rublev 4-6 7-5 6-4 while Borna Coric also came through a hard-fought three-set encounter against Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 5-7 7-5.
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