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Youngest man at this French Open suffers first round exit

Xinhua, May 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Frances Tiafoe, the youngest man at this French Open, lost his Grand Slam debut 6-2, 6-4 to 36th-ranked Martin Klizan of Slovakia in just one hour and 40 minutes on Monday.

A junior tournament competitor here last year, Tiafoe, the first 17-year-old American male player at Roland Garros since Michael Chang won the title in 1989, earned a wild card from the U.S. Tennis Association for the main draw.

He told a press conference after the first round encounter he enjoyed the atmosphere though he's very nervous.

"Definitely came out pretty nervous," said the Maryland boy. "I handled it all right. Not great, but, you know, it's still a learning experience, having the opportunity to play here in the French."

"I need to get a lot better. There are some things I need to work on, and obviously I need to get better to be playing at his level or higher," he added.

Thanks to an agreement between the French, Australian and American Tennis Federations, a wild-card is allocated in the men's and women's draws to a player from each of these countries alongside French youngesters. Endi