Katie Boulter survived a scare to seal a new high for British tennis at the Australian Open, completing a set of six first-round winners from this country for the first time.
The British No1, seeded No22 here, was below her best on Tuesday but showed her battling qualities to prevail 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 against Rebecca Marino, the world No98 from Canada. Like Emma Raducanu, she now has a chance on Thursday to reach the third round for the first time here when she plays Veronika Kudermetova, the world No75 from Russia.
The early progress of Boulter, Raducanu, Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Jack Draper and Jacob Fearnley has resulted in the best ever collective performance by British players in Australia. While there were six participants in the second round of the 1987 Australian Open — Jo Durie, Sara Gomer, Anne Hobbs, Julie Salmon, Jeremy Bates and Nick Fulwood — three of them had received first-round byes under the old smaller draws.
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The relief for Boulter was clear after she secured this fine achievement. The 28-year-old had been in deep trouble towards the end of her match at 30-0 down on her serve at 5-5 but dug herself out of a hole to squeak through this tricky encounter.
“It’s so great to have some positivity around British tennis,” Boulter said. “It’s been coming for a long time and it is just the beginning. These girls and guys have been working so hard. It’s great stuff for everyone and let’s hope we can keep that going.”
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Boulter had faced a long wait to take to the court after the preceding men’s singles match on the Kia Arena lasted for more than four hours. She eventually started play at 8.40pm and did not exactly race out of the blocks, losing her opening service game to go 2-0 down.
Backed by the vast majority of the crowd as something of an honorary Australian through her engagement to Alex de Minaur, Boulter quickly fought back to take control of the first set. But a sudden dip at the start of the second set allowed the big-hitting Marino to steal the momentum and a frustrated Boulter did not look comfortable heading into the deciding set.
At 3-3, Boulter was given some more local backing when De Minaur raced to her courtside box from his first-round win on the adjacent Rod Laver Arena. He was on his feet when Boulter came through a tough service game at 5-5, and she avoided a nervy tie-break by breaking the Marino serve for a hard-fought victory.
“That was way too stressful for me,” Boulter said. “I would have preferred an easier match today.
“It was a massive mental challenge. She [Marino] came out firing and played great. I’m happy I found a way. Sometimes that’s what these round-one matches are about.”
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Earlier, Cameron Norrie joined Sonay Kartal as the only two British singles players to bow out in the first round. The 29-year-old struggled with the after effects of illness during a 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 defeat by Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.
“I haven’t been able to prepare as well as I could,” Norrie said. “I’ve been pretty sick in Auckland, then coming here and have barely practised. I just hit the wall after an hour and a bit. I was not able to stay sharp on the court.”
The biggest scalp of the day came on the Margaret Court Arena at the hands of one of the most promising teenagers in the men’s game. João Fonseca, the 18-year-old Brazilian qualifier, rose to the occasion in his first main draw match at a grand-slam tournament, defeating the Russian No9 seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7-1). 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
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Daniil Medvedev, the No5 seed from Russia, avoided the same fate as his compatriot by battling back from two sets to one down to see off Kasidit Samrej, the world No418 from Thailand, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. He was so furious with his performance during the five-set battle that he smashed his racket against a camera located on the net.
“I hope the fine is not too big because the fine is usually for breaking the racket and the camera is going to cost some [money], but I don’t think a GoPro is that expensive,” Medvedev joked afterwards.
