Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who three years ago appeared destined for tennis stardom, took another step backward with an early loss at the BNP Paribas Open here
The 23-year-old Bouchard, a former top-five player who is currently ranked No. 53, won the opening set of her first-round match against Germany's Annika Beck on Thursday but she was unable to maintain that high level and fell 6-3, 2-6, 2-6.
Next up for Beck in the second round will be 26th-ranked Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic, reports Efe.
In other first-round women's singles action Thursday, Spanish qualifier Sara Sorribes Tormo advanced with an impressive 6-4, 6-2 victory over 36th-ranked Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
The 20-year-old Sorribes topped the two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist in just one hour and 19 minutes and will next face Polish world No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round.
In men's singles action Thursday at this hard-court event, another promising 20-year-old, Russia's Karen Khachanov, kicked off his Indian Wells campaign in style with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo.
--IANS
pur/vt
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