- British No 1 out in first round days after title breakthrough
- Jack Draper also exits after 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat by O’Connell
One of the great challenges of professional tennis is how quickly the sport moves on. No matter how great an achievement is, how well a player performs, a new week brings a new tournament, conditions and, most of all, new opponents with even more motivation to hit you off the court.
Three days after by far the greatest achievement of her career so far, winning her first WTA 500 title in San Diego and rising into the world top 30, Katie Boulter faced that challenge in full. In the first round of Indian Wells, she was swiftly brought back down to earth by Camila Giorgi, who dismantled her 6-3, 6-2 in 78 minutes to advance.