Aryna Sabalenka defeats Katie Boulter in three sets after the Brit threatened to cause an upset against the No 2 seed in second round of Wimbledon
- Katie Boulter was beaten in three sets by No 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka
- Boulter was the only female British player to make the second round
- The 24-year-old threatened to cause an upset by taking the first set
- But Sabalenka came back to win both the second and third set 6-3
When Katie Boulter was warming up in an England shirt this week, little did she know she would be the one gripping a nation 24 hours after Gareth Southgate’s side.
On Tuesday, the 24-year-old was spotted on the Wimbledon practice courts wearing her country’s colours before England took on Germany.
But it was football fan Boulter providing the tea-time entertainment. And despite her eventual valiant 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 defeat by second seed Aryna Sabalenka, she became the latest English hero dressed in white to be cheered off by a standing ovation.
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Katie Boulter in three sets in the second round of Wimbledon
Britain’s Boulter threatened to cause an upset against the No 2 ranked seed on Centre Court
This was the British No 5’s first-ever match on Centre Court and on this evidence there will be many more. Just like 19-year-old home favourite Jack Draper did against Novak Djokovic on Monday, Boulter took the first set against an opponent on a different level when it comes to ranking.
Against the partisan crowd, Sabalenka clawed her way back to force a decider. The bellowing Belarusian eventually came good — but only after being pushed to the brink in a brutal battle lasting two hours and six minutes.
‘I absolutely loved every minute out there,’ revealed Boulter, who was making her first appearance at Wimbledon since 2018. ‘The British crowd were incredible.
Boulter took the first set 6-4 and continued to battle in the second and third sets
‘That was my first time on Centre Court and it’s definitely the best court in the world.
‘I felt like I was at home straight off the bat. The crowd made me feel so welcome. I’m obviously gutted not to get the win but I’ll keep building.’
Boulter reached 82 in the rankings in 2019 before a spinal stress fracture put her out for six months.
More recently the world 219 has been struggling with an elbow injury which required a medical timeout midway through yesterday’s third set.
It did not appear to affect Boulter as she went toe-to-toe with the temperamental and error-strewn Sabalenka, who has never reached a Grand Slam quarter-final despite being the fourth-best female player in the world.
Boulter broke Sabalenka’s serve in the seventh game of the first set after two double faults, then comfortably saw it out before fist-pumping in front of the fans.
But Sabalenka survived six break points in the final set to overpower the British hopeful
After a bathroom break, the big-serving Sabalenka came back a different player.
Breaking Boulter in the sixth game, she then saved a break point at 5-3 with a huge ace and saw the set out.
Sabalenka broke Boulter in the third game of the decider but after her opponent took that timeout, she was broken to love. The turning point came at 2-2. Boulter thought she had held but a challenge showed a Sabalenka crosscourt had clipped the line.
An epic eighth game saw Sabalenka save six break points and it seemed to crush a tiring Boulter. After winning, Sabalenka sarcastically asked the crowd: ‘Will you support me the same in the next round?’ As the supporters cheered, she added: ‘Now I’m happy.’