Boulter ready to embrace opportunity
British No 3 ‘feeling no pressure as underdog’ Leicester City’s title win will provide inspiration
If Katie Boulter gives away as little on the court as she surrendered in yesterday’s press conference, then she might just have a chance of extending her grand slam breakthrough.
The 21-year-old wild card, who excelled in her main-draw debut on Tuesday, clearly means business. Her legs are tired, she said, but her mind remains sharp and there was a focused, calculated air to every word she uttered before today’s second-round meeting with Japan’s Naomi Osaka, the 18th seed.
“I’ll be ready to go,” Boulter said. “I just need to get a good night’s sleep and do all the recovery I need to do.”
That fatigue is not solely a result of Tuesday’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg. Boulter was back at the All England Club yesterday, where she played in the doubles alongside her compatriot Katie Swan, who had lost her own second-round singles match earlier in the day.
A straight-sets defeat by Lucie Hradecka and
Su-wei Hsieh was not the ideal preparation ahead of Boulter’s return to the singles limelight, but it gave her the chance to quiz Swan about her own difficulties on day two.
“Well, it would help if you don’t lose the first set 6-0,” a laughing Swan told Boulter. “That would be a good start.”
It is tempting to say that the departure of Swan has increased the expectation on Boulter,