David Goffin made a painful exit from the French Open on Friday courtesy of a nasty fall during his third-round match with Horacio Zeballos.

Goffin, the 10th seed in the men's singles draw, looked set to wrap up the first set on Court Suzanne Lenglen as he moved 40-0 up serving with a 5-4 lead.

However, Zeballos hit back to earn a break point and the Argentinian was then handed an unexpectedly swift passage into round four when Goffin took a tumble at the back of the court and was unable to continue.

After racing back to retrieve a ball, Goffin tripped over the court covers situated well behind the baseline, his right ankle twisting awkwardly as a result.

The Belgian - a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros 12 months ago - was in clear discomfort as two trainers helped him off the court, with his subsequent retirement inevitable.

In a post in French, Roland Garros' official Twitter account cited a sprained ankle as the reason for Goffin's withdrawal.

Zeballos, who had already achieved his best result at a grand slam by reaching round three, will face either Dominic Thiem or Steve Johnson in his next match.