Court Philippe-Chatrier is one of the broadest tennis courts in the world, meaning when things are going badly and the match is rapidly falling away, it makes for a painfully lonely place to be. A day after Emma Raducanu learned this during her heavy defeat by the defending champion Iga Swiatek, Katie Boulter endured a similarly miserable experience as she was comprehensively beaten 6-1, 6-3 by the Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the second round of the French Open.
Landing in the path of a recent grand slam champion is rarely good news but there were reasons for Boulter, the British No 1, to be hopeful before her match with Keys. Rather than potentially facing a tricky, cunning clay specialist who could make her extremely uncomfortable, the tactics were at least simple for both: attack first.
