By Tony Fairbairn At Wimbledon
- Elena Rybakina [3] def Katie Boulter [WC] 6-1 6-1
- Katie Boulter remained positive and upbeat despite a heavy defeat at the hands of the defending champion
LONDON, ENGLAND – Katie Boulter is looking to capitalise on her ‘positive’ Wimbledon campaign after losing to Elena Rybakina in the third round.
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Katie Boulter’s great Wimbledon run came to an end in the third round as the Brit was thrashed by defending champion Elena Rybakina. The British number one never got going as Rybakina produced a flawless display to ensure her spot in the last 16.
After the match Boulter spoke about the Kazakh’s game and put into perspective how difficult it is to play the third seed.
“Yeah, obviously a really tough match against a tough competitor. I gave it my best today,” Boulter said in her press conference.
“I wouldn’t say I really felt like I got into the match fully. She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason, and I learnt a lot today and that’s what I’m going to have to take from today’s match.
“Obviously it’s a lot quicker and the majority of girls, they don’t quite hit the ball like that. It’s quite flat. You don’t really see where she’s going. She disguises it very well. So for me, I struggled with it a lot today.
“You know, it felt like I got into it a little bit at times and I started to pick up her ball but she was relentless at the end of the day. She was the much better player.”
Despite the defeat it’s been a great grass court season for Boulter who came into Wimbledon as the new British number one. Furthermore Boulter won her first WTA singles title in Nottingham which was followed by two wins at Wimbledon.
Speaking after her defeat Boulter said that she’s loved every minute of Wimbledon and can only see positives from the tournament she produced.
“I will always reflect back on something positive,” Boulted said after the match.
“I think, you know, the crowd are incredible. You know, going out there, every single point they’re behind me and I felt them at all times. I wanted to give them a bit more today, but unfortunately I couldn’t do that. But I appreciated them every single second I was out there.
“I loved every single minute. Obviously today was not my day. I have to be accepting of that. It’s part of this sport and ultimately I have to pick myself up and look at the positives. I’m sure it’s going to be a tough night but I’m going to sit here tomorrow morning and tell you that I’m at a career high.
“I’ve had some seriously positive weeks. I’ve come off the back of five long weeks with no injuries, no issues. They’re the things I’m going to be focusing on and really pushing forward on the rest of the year.”
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‘Opportunity’ awaits Boulter after Wimbledon
As Boulter alluded too now the Brit will look to push on and keep improving as she looks ahead to the US Open. It’s likely that Boulter will be into the main draw in New York given her ranking is into the top 100 and will look to capitalise on the momentum created in the grass court season.
Speaking ahead of the second half of the season, Boulter admitted that this is a big opportunity coming up to continue the good work that she has done over the last few weeks.
“I’ve got virtually not many points to defend,” Boulter acknowledged ahead of the US hard court swing.
“It’s a really good opportunity for me to keep pushing my ranking up and really make a statement and play many more matches like today. They’re the matches that I want to be playing.
“Yeah, I want to compete against the best in the world, and I’m going to have to do that week in, week out. Some days you play good; some days you don’t. Some days they go your way. The more matches I play like that, the more confidence and the more information I’ll get about myself and I can try and improve myself.”
Boulter will look to continue her consistent form over in America which culminates in the US Open which starts on the 28 August.
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