Katie Boulter, the young Fed Cup star who helped Great Britain back to the competition’s elite level for the first time in 26 years, has been forced to withdraw from the French Open with a lingering back injury.

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She might also miss Wimbledon in July, reflecting the level of discomfort she suffered in her matches against Kazakhstan in London last month.

Boulter, inspired by the team leader Johanna Konta, has consistently played above her world ranking – currently 92 – and gives cause for optimism about the state of women’s tennis in Britain. Konta, who reached the final in Rabat on Saturday, plays the reigning French Open champion, Simona Halep, in the second round of the Madrid Open on Tuesday.

There was plenty to engage day-two crowds in Spain. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion and world No 8, roused from a mid-match slumber to beat Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

Working for the first time with Sven Groeneveld (recently with Yibing Wu and formerly coach to Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova), the American’s first meeting on clay against the two-times Australian Open champion gave her a fourth win over Azarenka in 14 months, the prize a fourth-round meeting with either Saisai Zheng or Alizé Cornet.

When a teenaged Stephens first played Madrid in 2011 she lost in a first-round qualifier to the world No 90, Sofia Arvidsson while Azarenka – six years into a career that would hit the first of many high points at No1 in the world the following summer – got to the final, where she gave Petra Kvitova a decent losing argument.

How the tennis landscape has changed since. Azarenka gave birth to Leo in 2016 (then was hurled into a custody battle only now being resolved), and has struggled against the best in a distracted comeback, although recent successes against two top-10 players, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova, hint at her lingering pedigree.

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As Azarenka said after defeat here: “Tennis is my job, not my life.” Now 29, she once said she could not imagine playing past 27 but now, a year into another comeback, she can see herself playing until she is 35.

“Do I have the same drive [as when younger]? Yes, I do. But it is not my priority any more. To be quite frank, if I had to go play a tournament or spend time with my son, there is no choice. It’s going to be my son. But I have to work. When I do my job, in the limited time I’m away from my son, I’m going to make sure I put 100% into doing the best I can. Otherwise I won’t be doing it.” Stephens, mostly rock-solid, occasionally wayward, started fast, let the Belarusian back in,to the fight then overcame a shaky start to the decider to close it out in just over two hours.

Two double faults – her eighth and ninth – after saving match point steered Azarenka towards a dispiriting defeat. There will be other days, though – and they will all be for Leo.