WASHINGTON — Katie Boulter suffered a first-round exit at the Mubadala DC Open with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 defeat to American world No. 67 Ashlyn Krueger, while fellow Brit Cameron Norrie ended his six-match losing run on the ATP Tour with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over world No. 95 Aleksandar Kovacevic at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo in Mexico.
Boulter, making her first appearance since a first-round exit at Wimbledon, dominated the opening set in Washington. She broke in the seventh game when Krueger sent a backhand long and broke again two games later to clinch it 6-3. Krueger had made 16 unforced errors in the first set but turned the match around, breaking Boulter twice in the second to level at 6-2. The final set was tense. Krueger went on the offensive early and forced Boulter to save two break points, but the Brit held and then moved ahead 2-0. She could not sustain momentum as Krueger broke three times over the next five games to seal victory. Krueger will now face four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the second round.
In Mexico, Norrie secured his first ATP Tour victory since April despite an uneven start. He lost serve in the opening game against Kovacevic but hit back immediately to level, then saved two break points to hold. The first set came down to the wire with the pair trading breaks again in the eighth and ninth games before Norrie came out on top 6-4.
Norrie then shifted gears in the second set. He raced to a 4-1 lead before closing out the match in just over half an hour to book a second-round tie against either Aidan Mayo or Jamie Duckworth.