Great Britain's Katie Swan was left to rue a plethora of missed opportunities as she lost in straight sets to Spain's Cristina Bucsa in the first round of the Indian Wells Masters.
The 23-year-old, who beat top-seeded qualifier Dalma Galfi to book her spot in the main draw of a Masters 1000 event for the first time, lost a tensely-fought battle 6-7[6] 5-7 in two hours and 16 minutes, despite initially gaining the upper hand in both sets.
Swan got off to a dream start against Bucsa, breaking in the opening game and holding for a 2-0 lead, but second serves bedevilled her as Bucsa broke back for 2-2.
Neither player was proving competent on serve as they traded another four breaks between them, but once again, Swan could not build on a quick start in the tie-breaker and ceded the first set.
After saving five break points early doors in the second set, Swan traded another pair of breaks with Bucsa and found herself 5-4 up on serve, but she squandered a set point as the Spaniard broke back.
A calamitous collapse in the 10th game saw the Brit squander no fewer than five set points on Bucsa's serve, and her physical exertions seemed to take a toll on her as she was broken once more in the 11th game.
Racking up seven double faults in the second set, Swan quickly fell 40-0 down in the 12th game, and Bucsa took her second match point to set up a tie with sixth seed Coco Gauff in round two. body check tags ::
