British No 1 Katie Boulter defeated China’s Yuan Yue in straight sets for her first Australian Open main draw victory in five years.
Boulter had lost in qualifying in Melbourne the previous two years but made rapid strides up the rankings in 2023 and was impressive in a 7-5 7-6 (7-1) win over in-form Yuan.
The only missed step from Boulter, who has been the subject of a lot of attention as the girlfriend of Australia’s big hope Alex De Minaur, was two match points that went begging on her own serve at 5-4 in the second set.
But she regrouped well and dominated the tie-break for just her second main-draw victory at Melbourne Park.
Boulter headed into this year’s first Grand Slam ranked 57 and full of confidence after a great start to 2024.
At the United Cup in Perth, Boulter claimed the biggest victory of her career over world No 5 Jessica Pegula and has her sights set on another sizeable leap this year.
It was a tight contest throughout but Boulter showed once again that she is a player for the big occasion, coming out on top in nearly all the key moments.
A break for 6-5 in the opening set gave her the chance to serve it out, which she took in hot, breezy conditions.
Yuan, ranked seven places lower than Boulter at 61 in the world, reached the semi-finals of the WTA Tour event in Hobart last week, and there was nothing to separate the pair in the second set until the Brit, who had been under more pressure on her serve, broke to lead 5-4.
But her composure wavered at the wrong time, the 27-year-old serving a double fault on her first match point and then making a backhand error on the second as Yuan pulled back level.
She did not dwell on the missed opportunities, though, winning the first five points of the tie-break and taking her third match point to seal her first win in Melbourne since beating Ekaterina Makarova in 2019.
Boulter also joined fellow Britons Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper in the second round.
Jelena Ostapenko, the 11th seed, stormed past Aussie wild card Kimberly Birrell in straight sets, winning 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.
The Latvian sent down five aces and 28 winners while making a typically high 35 unforced errors as she closed out the match in 100 minutes.
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Source : Sky Sports
