By Ros Satar, in Bath
- Katie Boulter def. Valentini Grammatikopoulou 6-3 4-6 6-3
BATH, UK – Katie Boulter battled through a match of contentious line calls to get another win on the board for Great Britain.
-Latest player gear | Pro:Direct Tennis Shop-
Buy the latest gear from the top players from the Pro:Direct Tennis Shop and check out their 80% off sale on selected tennis equipment now on
[table “ADPDAll” not found /]
Katie Boulter def. Valentini Grammatikopoulou 6-3 4-6 6-3
It was another quick start from the British No. 2 Katie Boulter, as she opened proceedings once more in Great Britain’s second tie, against Greece. Playing with confidence, she was quick to steal a march on Greece’s Valentina Grammatikopoulou, establishing a slim break lead.
As Greece got themselves on the board, Boulter demonstrated ably how her game is improving in leaps and bounds with some great variation and deft touches at the net, capably backed up with a booming serve.
Playing within herself to keep her advantage, Boulter looked to be handling the pressure of leading the charge and being the one expected to win very well. Pressure, on the other hand, seemed to weigh a little heavier on Grammatikopoulou’s shoulders as Boulter broke her to love to take the first set.
The story was different in the second set as the Greek was the first to hit back breaking Boulter, only to be pegged straight back. In a rather more up-and-down set for the Brit, she lost her serve once more as the Greek No. 2 player started to look a lot more assured. An over-rule for a call that looked as though it was rightly called out unsettled the Brit enough for Greece to level this up.
Stepping in a lot more and putting pressure on Boulter’s first serve was starting to take its toll, with Greece taking an early lead in the deciding set. Boulter endured an epic battle, fending off another three points to keep herself in the decider.
That epic hold proved to be the turning point for Boulter as she broke for a lead fr thr first time in the set, and although Grammatikopoulou fended off a match point, Boulter struck home serving out the match to love.
With team captain Anne Keothavong believing that big things cols happen for Boulter this year, the Brit took a lot of pride in that performance.
She said, after the match: “This whole entire year, this career that we choose, everything’s not going to be perfect and my mentality is to go out and fight no matter what happen, whether you play well, whether you play badly and I think that’s one of the biggest keys to tennis and it’s what I try and pride myself on.”
-Viagogo Tennis Tickets-
Search Viagogo for tennis tickets for upcoming tournaments
[table “ADTenTix” not found /]
Heart and Legs
Keothavong shared that each player has a different approach, and Boulter revealed what she had said to her to help galvanise the Brit to yet another win in her Fed Cup career.
“The only thing that I’m going to say is that she said ‘heart and legs and the whole bench behind me as well. That is what we are made of and what we show, and I think I proved that out there.”
The tie continues with Johanna Konta facing the Greek No. 1 just a place above her in the rankings, Maria Sakkari.
How to Watch/Follow the Fed Cup
TV | BT Sport 2 (Subscription Required) |
Live Stream | British Tennis on Facebook |
Live Scores | Tennis Live Scores on Britwatch Sports |
-Connected Clubs-
Shop at Connected Clubs for a vast range in tennis equipment and training aids to help improve your tennis.
![]() |
---|
Follow Britwatch - Sport in General, Brits in Particular! | |
---|---|
Soundcloud | |
YouTube | |
We may receive compensation for products purchased via affiliate links on this website |