Coco Gauff became the first seed to depart the women's singles draw at Australian Open 2022 after a shock first-round loss to China's Wang Qiang on Monday.
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Gauff had never lost to Wang, but the 18th seed's game collapsed under the weight of her unforced errors as she fell behind 5-0 in the second set.
She did well to make the latter stages of the match more competitive, saving three match points in the penultimate game.
But Wang went on to seal a 6-4 6-2 victory at Margaret Court Arena, handing Gauff just her second-ever opening-round loss in 10 Grand Slam main-draw appearances.
"I think just everything disappointed me about today," the 17-year-old said.
"I feel like in the pre-season, like I worked really hard, and I felt like I was ready to have a good run here. Today I just didn't perform well.
"I think there's a lot to learn from. I think I was playing a little bit tighter than normal.
"So I think next time coming into the first round of a slam, especially after a tough week before, I think I need to just play more free and focus on the moment."
The "tough week" Gauff references was her semifinal finish at last week's Adelaide International 2 tournament, where she pushed eventual champion Madison Keys to three sets in a compelling encounter.
The week prior, she extended eventual champ and world No.1 Ash Barty to three sets in the second round at Adelaide International 1.
The level she attained in Adelaide made Monday's performance against Wang all the more surprising. Was it difficult adjusting from the conditions at Memorial Drive to Melbourne Park?
"Maybe (conditions) had something to do with it, but to be honest I think it was just more so me," she said.
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"I don't know if it was just an off day or just getting used to (different conditions). I will say that Adelaide is more thinner air, if that makes sense. So the ball, I feel like, flies a little bit more.
"I feel like today I was missing; I think I had a lot of unforced errors, I don't know the amount, but I know it was a lot just by playing with it."
Indeed, Gauff finished the 73-minute match with an unsightly 38 unforced errors – 21 in the second set alone.
For a player who did not drop a set to Wang in their two prior meetings in 2021, this result seemed out of character. Especially when you consider that, in her short career, Gauff has flourished at the majors.
Four times in those 10 Grand Slam appearances, the teenage phenom has progressed to the second week, last year reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
"I feel like this is the first Grand Slam that I kind of played a tournament before like really close," she said, before smiling ruefully: "So I don't know, like, if I'll do it again or not."
Gauff, acknowledged that, on paper, she was supposed to win Monday's encounter.
But although Wang currently resides outside the world's top 100, she peaked at world No.12 – as recently as September 2019 – and famously stunned Serena Williams in a third-round classic at AO 2020.
She barely competed in the second half of 2021; it was reported she withdrew from Wimbledon to focus on her Tokyo Olympics campaign, and after a second-round loss there, she did not play again for the rest of the season.
After beginning 2021 ranked 34th, she ended it at No.104, opening 2022 with back-to-back losses in qualifying events in Melbourne and Adelaide.
Her defeat of Gauff marks an incredible turnaround in her fortunes, setting up a second-round clash with Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck as she targets another deep run at Melbourne Park.