British number three Jodie Burrage suffered a straight-sets defeat to Italian sixth seed Lucia Bronzetti in the first round of the Open de Limoges in France.
Bronzetti took one hour and 40 minutes to record a 6-4 6-4 win over Burrage on Monday, in a match that was characterized by a spate of missed break opportunities for both players and a myriad of double faults for the Brit, who racked up eight in total.
Burrage broke Bronzetti's serve in the opening game of the match but could not build on that fast start, as the Italian earned two breaks back of her own before holding for a 4-1 lead.
Bronzetti had the chance to serve the first set out at 5-3 up, but a mammoth ninth game ultimately saw Burrage break for a second time to get the match back on serve, although she squandered five opportunities to do so before converting her sixth break point.
However, Bronzetti broke one final time in the first set to establish a 1-0 lead, but it was Burrage who would take control of proceedings in the second set, going 3-1 up after Bronzetti wasted five break points of her own in the fourth game.
Burrage would suffer a catastrophic collapse while battling to force a third set, though, as she lost each of her final four games while 4-2 up following another pair of breaks for Bronzetti.
The 24-year-old Italian converted her first match point to send Burrage home and set up a second-round tie with Croatian qualifier Jana Fett.
Ben Knapton
