By Tony Fairbairn
- Holger Rune [13] def Dan Evans 6-4 6-4 6-4
- Paula Badosa def Katie Boulter [26] 4-6 7-5 6-4
- Dan Evans raged at the umpire after losing to Holger Rune while Katie Boulter completed the first round whitewash for Brits.
PARIS, FRANCE – Dan Evans was fuming at the umpire after his straight sets defeat to Holger Rune while Katie Boulter’s defeat to Paula Badosa means there is no Brits in singles in the second round of Roland Garros.
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A miserable tournament for Britain’s singles players was complete on day three as Dan Evans and Katie Boulter were the last players to exit the tournament in the first round.
The result means that Great Britain have no singles players in the second round of Roland Garros for the first time since 2020.
The first player to exit was Evans who suffered a straight sets defeat to Holger Rune in what was a valiant display from Evans.
In the first two sets Evans produced some consistently aggressive tennis but Rune’s clay court prowess and quality was ultimately too much as the Dane edged to a two set lead.
However Evans responded in fine fashion as he broke for a 4-2 lead in the third set with Rune moaning over a couple of calls and decisions that the umpire was making.
This disruption in play allowed Rune to disrupt Evans’ rhythm as he broke back and went onto win four consecutive games in a row to claim victory and a place in the second round.
After the match Evans was clearly fuming with the fact that Rune was able to disrupt the Brit’s rhythm and spoke about how there needs to be a rule change to prevent this from happening during matches.
“The match was flowing great and then f****** just stopped in the middle and I don’t understand what the umpire’s … but anyway, that’s not the reason I lost and that’s just part of the issue, part of the problem, but he’ll be back in work again tomorrow,” Evans furiously told The Guardian.
“On the whole the umpiring is good. The clay is a difficult surface. But definitely having a conversation on somebody else’s serve, you don’t see it in any other sport. In rugby they get 10 metres or whatever, squash you’re not allowed, it’s no talking. We just sit there and have a conversation. We’ve seen many cases of it.”
Evans also commented on the tournament for British players as there will be no representation in the second round of the singles tournament.
The world number 62 explained that British players are in the best position they’ve ever been on clay and says it’s just been an unlucky tournament.
“It’s just been a bit of a tough tournament I think,” Evans told The Guardian.
“I think we’re actually in the best spot we’ve been in with the clay for a long time. I think Draper will win a lot of matches here, everywhere. I just think it’s a bit of not a great tournament. It’s just how it’s panned out. We got loads of doubles players though.”
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Boulter completes British whitewash
The British player to exit the tournament was Boulter as she lost in an epic three set battle with Paula Badosa that ran late into the night on court nine.
Boulter recovered from a 4-2 deficit in the opening set to win four consecutive games and storm to the opening set against an error-prone Badosa.
The 26th seed continued her momentum by breaking and consolidating at the start of the second set as Badosa struggled to find her game.
However the Spaniard found her game later in the set as she was inspired by a noisy Spanish support as she broke back in the eighth game, breaking Boulter’s confident serve.
The world number 139 then saved three break points before sealing a second break of the set to force a deciding set.
In the final set, Boulter broke in the opening game but made some crucial mistakes to hand Badosa the break back and momentum of the final set.
Both players created break point opportunities as the final set was entertainment personified.
However it was Badosa who produced the more aggressive tennis when it mattered most as she broke in the tenth game to secure victory.
After the match Boulter admitted that fine margins won Badosa the match as she commented on the fact that no British players are in the second round at Roland Garros.
“Honestly, I can’t speak for the others,” Boulter stated to The Guardian.
“I can only speak for myself and I’ve worked so hard to be in this position and I’ve just lost out in the finest of margins. Ultimately, I’ve done the best that I can and I will keep doing the very best that I can and put my heart on the line every single match I can play.”
Both Evans and Boulter will now focus on the Grass court season and will begin in Nottingham which begins the week after Roland Garros.
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