Kei Nishikori (Photo : Twitter)
In a stunning turn of events, 2014 US Open runner-up, Kei Nishikori's bid to secure a second straight finals appearance is put to rest.
On Monday afternoon, the number-four seed lost in five sets to unheralded Frenchman, Benoit Paire, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.
The Japanese star failed to score on a match point in the fourth set, allowing Paire to dig deep and force a tiebreak. Nishikori only dished out three aces compared to Paire's twenty-one, but the former played a more controlled pace with thirty-six unforced errors to the latter's sixty-seven.
"I think he was playing good tennis. I mean, I don't think I played bad. Didn't play great, but still it's never easy first match," claimed Nishikori after the upset.
He added, "I had match point and kind of lost a little bit of my forehand."
On the women's side, former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic was booted out by Slovakian, Dominika Cibulkova.
The number-seven seed Serbian lost the first set 3-6, before gaining momentum for a 6-3 win in the second.
In the end, Cibulkova capitalized on every chance she got by taking the final set 6-3.
Ivanovic said after the match, "It's not easy, but today I felt like she used her opportunities better than I did."
With this result, women's top seed, Serena Williams is expected to breeze through her quarter of the draw, and complete her pursuit for a first calendar Grand Slam since 1988.
Other notable upsets feature a pair of Americans in Lauren Davis winning against British number-one Heather Watson, 7-6, 7-6; and Madison Brengle beating SaiSai Zheng, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5,
Top-seeded women's players Carla Suarez Navarro and Karolina Pliskova also lost in straight sets, in their respective first-round matches.
