STEELY BOULTER DOES NOT FALTER

KATIE BOULTER played the winning hand for Great Britain again in the Billie Jean King Cup to seal victory over Mexico.

Boulter, 24, beat Giuliana Olmos 6-4 6-1 for her second victory of the tie, wrapping up a 3-1 win overall in the behind-closed-doors affair at London’s National Tennis Centre.

That result kept Anne Keothavong and her side at the elite level of the competition and means GB go forward to a first-round tie next

February. Victory there would see them qualify for the finals week for the first time.

Keothavong said: “We came in with high expectations and the players delivered.

“It is a special feeling at this stage of the competition to get a win. As a team, we haven’t been in this position too many times.” Britain went into the clash as heavy favourites, but a 6-3 7-6 defeat for Heather Watson against Marcela Zacarias earlier added some tension.

Boulter (above) was given the nod for the second singles spot despite a lowly ranking of 291 that is a legacy of the serious back injury she sustained while guiding Britain to victory over Kazakhstan in the same competition – then known as the Fed Cup – in 2019.

This was her first appearance since and once again she has shown she is a player who relishes the pressure occasions.