It might be a collective disappointment for American men on French clay in the first round so far, but the bright side is plenty of courageous effort and challenging matches.

No. 14-seed Jack Sock was hammered in straight sets 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 by dangerous lefty Jiri Vesely. It’s a bitter result for Sock after pushing Rafael Nadal to four sets in the 2015 French Open fourth round.

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The second-highest American in the women's draw, CoCo Vandweghe, suffered a similar fate. The Australian Open semifinalist tumbled out of the first round to Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-1, 6-4. Another seeded American, Lauren Davis, also lost in her opener, while No. 10-seeded Venus Williams advanced along with No. 12-seeded Madison Keys.

But back to the men. It wasn’t a surprise that Aljaz Bedene defeated American Ryan Harrison. The Brit has won 21 of 24 matches on clay, but he had a few cutting comments about Harrison in his post-match interview. He claimed that Harrison “tanked” the second set (losing 6-0) as a tactic to help him win the third set.

Jared Donaldson lost in straight sets to doubles great Pierre-Hugues Herbert. He’s trained a lot on clay despite his American upbringing, but Donaldson will be looking for a bigger summer push. He was joined in opening losses by young Americans Ernesto Escobedo and Frances Tiafoe.

Tiafoe, perhaps America’s most talented young prospect, battled toe-to-toe with veteran Italian clay-courter Fabio Fognini. He sent the match to a fifth set, but ran out of energy in a 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, 6-0 loss.

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Former player Chanda Rubin believes the match will hasten the 19-year-old Tiafoe’s growth.

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But the match of the day on Monday belonged to two gritty veteran warriors.

Donald Young played his best, but it wasn't enough against the globetrotting king of little clay-court tournaments, David Ferrer. The 27-year-old succumbed 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 13-11 in four hours and 27 minutes.

There is growing respect for Young, who was a ballyhooed American prospect a decade ago. Instead, he’s had to struggle to stay inside the Top 100. In 2012, he waded his way through a summer losing streak that reached 17 losses. But his effort has been rewarded lately with deep runs Delray Beach and Memphis.

Some believe the world No. 51's best tennis is still ahead as he approaches his 28th birthday.

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And props to No. 25-seed Steve Johnson, who survived a scare in losing third and fourth set tiebreakers, but still got the victory, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-7(3), 6-3. Johnson’s father recently passed away suddenly at the age of 58.

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John Isner—the only other American male left in the draw—plays his opening round on Tuesday.

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