By Tony Fairbairn
- Belinda Bencic [10] def Katie Boulter 6-0 7-5
- Katie Boulter joined Jacob Fearnley, Francesca Jones and Sonay Kartal as Brits to exit at the first round stage.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Katie Boulter is relishing playing qualifying at future events as she was one of four Brits to exit the Australian Open at the first round stage.
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It was a terrible first round for Brits with four of the seven singles players losing early in Melbourne.
There were losses for Jacob Fearnley, Francesca Jones and Sonay Kartal with Fearnley losing in four sets to Kamil Majchrzak while Jones retired against Linda Klimovicova.
Meanwhile, Kartal produced a valiant effort but ultimately lost in straight sets to Anna Kalinskaya.
However, the main focus after round one is on Katie Boulter as the Brit had the most high-profile opponent in the form of Belinda Bencic.
The Brit was now ranked outside the world’s top 100 and was in the main draw through withdrawals and faced a big task taking on one of the in-form players of the last 12 months.
It was clear to see why Bencic was in confident form and why Boulter wasn’t recently as the tenth seed was brutal in her dismantling of Boulter in the first set.
Winner after winner was produced while Boulter struggled to establish any sort of authority in the rallies and was too passive.
Too many unforced errors cost Boulter as Bencic ran away with the first set winning all six games in 24 minutes.
There needed to be some momentum created from Boulter in order for the Brit to be a presence in this match and a much needed hold at the start of the second set was just what was required.
A first game of the match was the foundation for a more attacking and proactive performance from Boulter who gave Bencic a sterner test in the second set.
Despite fending off more power from Bencic, Boulter did eventually concede the break in the seventh game as the Swiss looked on her way to the second round.
There was great character shown by Boulter though as she broke the Bencic serve for the first time in the match before saving break point to take a 5-4 lead in the set.
An incredible response from Boulter who was being more aggressive on the forehand side and crushing the ball.
However, it wasn’t enough for Boulter as Bencic claimed the remaining three games to book her place in the second round.
After her defeat Boulter gave Bencic credit for the way she played as she admitted it was one of the toughest draws she could have had.
“She belongs in the top 10,” Boulter told The Guardian.
“She’s a very unique player that you don’t get a chance to practise against too much. She kind of makes you almost have to rush and play shots that you don’t normally play and kind of go for broke a little bit.”
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Boulter taking positives and relishing playing qualifying
It was a disappointing first set performance from Boulter against a ruthless Bencic who barely gave time for the Brit to breathe.
In the second set Boulter was more aggressive and proactive as she found more success and pushed Bencic to her limit.
Speaking after the loss Boulter admitted she can take confidence in her performance in the second set and is pleased to find her identity again.
“I take confidence in [the second set],” Boulter stated to The Guardian.
“I think I raised my game a lot more in the second, and that’s closer to the game style I’ve been playing recently and finding my identity again. Seeing where I win points against players like that is important as well because it reminds me how I can play and where I’m going to have to improve as well.”
Improvement will be the next task for Boulter was inside the world’s top 24 a couple of years ago but now finds herself outside the world’s top 100.
That means in the couple of months, Boulter will have to play qualifying at tournaments to get her ranking back up.
This is a challenge that Boulter is relishing as she aims to be a direct entry for Wimbledon later this year.
“I’m quite excited for it. I’m eager to get out and play loads of matches,” Boulter admitted to The Guardian.
“I’m not pressured about playing qualifying in any tournaments. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play back-to-back days, getting my body back to being used to playing five matches. It’s really important.
“Ultimately last year it was very bitty, so I never really found I got that rhythm of just match play. You know, with the two-week tournaments as well you have such a long period of time between tournaments, so you kind of lose a rhythm.
“So I’m actually very excited to go and play some tournaments, even lower ones.”
Boulter’s next scheduled tournament is set to be the WTA 250 event in Ostrava on the week of the second of February.
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