Katie Boulter was knocked out in the second round of the women’s singles in Rome after a 6-4 7-6 (10-8) defeat to Slovakian qualifier Rebecca Sramkova.
Boulter – seeded 26th for the tournament – was broken twice by the world number 120 early in the first set as she struggled for rhythm.
The British number one managed to steal a break back but Sramkova was able to close out the first set.
Boulter fought back from two breaks down in the second set but squandered an opportunity to square the match when she was 5-4 up.
The 27-year-old saved three match points in the tie-break before Sramkova came out on top in two hours and seven minutes.
In the men’s doubles, Jamie Murray and Michael Venus wrapped up a 6-4 6-3 victory over Lloyd Glasspool and Jean-Julien Rojer to reach the second round.
Heather Watson and Xu Yifan suffered a first-round exit in the women’s doubles after a 6-3 1-6 10-8 defeat to Zheng Saisai and Wang Xinyu.
