To lose one drawcard halfway through a tournament is unfortunate but, when Serena Williams, the defending champion, joined Andy Murray in packing her bags on Thursday, a sense of slowly unravelling chaos took hold of the Rome Masters.
While the Scot offered fatigue as an excuse – understandable from a personal point of view before the French Open after a gruelling clay-court run, but buttering few parsnips with the fans or the organisers – Williams at least could point to an injury to her right elbow when announcing she could not fulfil her third-round match against her compatriot Christina McHale.