In the final months of a career-best year that has seen her establish herself as a seeded player in the biggest tennis tournaments in the world, the pressing question surrounding Katie Boulter is whether she is ready to piece together a deep grand slam run. Boulter has already won multiple WTA titles, she has beaten numerous top players and earned the respect of her peers, but reaching the second week of a major has so far eluded her.
After some early concerns in her opening round match at the US Open, Boulter remained composed as she shook off her tentative play and struck the ball with authority, recovering from a set down to defeat the qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
“I do think it’s important that I start making moves in bigger tournaments, because if I want to go from No 30 to 20 [in the rankings], there’s a huge jump, and if I want to go from 20 to 10, there’s a massive jump,” Boulter said.
“So for me, it’s about looking at where I can start gaining a bit more, like bigger points. And obviously I’m going to have to play better, but I do feel like I’ve got that game to do that. I have shown that in the past, it’s just about putting it in these weeks and prioritising them a little bit more, which is something that I just haven’t done before.”
Despite how positive things have been for Boulter in general, the past few months have been a mixed bag in singles. This win is her second completed singles victory since a disappointing defeat by Harriet Dart in the second round of Wimbledon.
A few weeks after Wimbledon, Boulter fulfilled a childhood dream by becoming an Olympian and she was not far from competing for a medal alongside Heather Watson as they reached the quarter-finals in the women’s doubles draw before losing to the eventual gold medallists, Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani. But Boulter understood that by opting to compete on clay in Paris, it could come at a cost to her rhythm and form during the subsequent North American hard‑court swing, where she is capable of performing at a much higher level.
Although Boulter entered Stadium 17 as the clear favourite, Sasnovich is a quality player who has embedded herself inside the top 100, even though her more modest successes have been overshadowed by her fellow Belarusians Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka.
Sasnovich is a solid baseliner with a sweet backhand but her biggest weakness is impossible to ignore. Over the past year Sasnovich has opted for an abbreviated, deconstructed service motion, which starts with her racket already over her head in the trophy position, and she holds that stance for three long seconds.
While Sasnovich predictably struggled with her serve at times, early on in the searing afternoon heat she commanded the baseline and dominated the majority of exchanges against a tentative Boulter, who struggled to find her range and was punished when she became too passive.
From the beginning of the second set, Boulter was determined to attack from the first ball, take it early and push inside the baseline. She played a great opening return game, relentlessly attacking the Sasnovich serve, and the momentum immediately shifted as she took the break. As Boulter wrestled control of the match, Sasnovich’s serve began to crumble and the Briton marched to victory.
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Having spent much of her career in Sasnovich’s position as a lowly qualifier, Boulter says that while she is getting used to her new status, she is determined to push for more. “If I’m going up the seeds, then I’m heading in the right direction,” she said. “And I kind of see it as that, and a privilege to be in that position, but it just means I’m playing some good tennis. It’s an accumulative year for me, but it’s not something that I want to sit on. I just want to keep pushing. And I know I’ve got a lot in the bag.
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“It’s just about getting it out at the right times. And I am very realistic with it as well. I’m not expecting myself just to shoot to the stars, I’m at a steady pace, and I’m going to keep working hard. But I am going to get there. I’m going to get a lot higher. I do really feel it.”
Meanwhile, the British No 1 Jack Draper moved into the second round after his opponent, Zhang Zhizhen of China, retired as Draper led 6-3, 6-0, 4-0. Draper, the 25th seed, will next face either Facundo Díaz Acosta or Hugo Gaston, with a potential third round match with Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed, looming.
