After a three-day opening salvo at Roland Garros, there are no Brits left standing. As the clock hit 23:30 local time, under the shadow of Court Suzanne Lenglen amid an ebullient atmosphere on Court 9, Katie Boulter missed out on a first win at the French Open in a tight final-set loss. And she wasn’t the only Brit to experience one of those this week.
On paper, as she embarked on a main draw debut here as the 26th seed, it was a tough draw to be on the end of. Paula Badosa is a former world number two whose ranking has plummeted as a result of a stress fracture in her back putting her out of action for the best part of six months. Two players, in identical violet-coloured outfits, who both play a strikingly similar hard-hitting baseline game.
