By Ros Satar
- Katie Boulter [Q] def Rebecca Marino [WC] 6-3 6-1
- H2H: First Meeting
MONTREAL, CANADA – Katie Boulter breezed past Canada’s Rebecca Marino and sets up a second-round clash with WTA Washington champion Coco Gauff.
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Katie Boulter [Q] def Rebecca Marino [WC] 6-3 6-1
British No. 1 Katie Boulter had the honour of closing out proceedings against a home-crowd favourite in Canadian wildcard Rebecca Marino, for the loss of just four games.
Boulter started aggressively, putting Marino under pressure in the first game before being rewarded with a break, and capping that with breaking once more for the first set.
There was a flurry of resistance from Marino, who had a couple of chances to break Boulter at the start of the second set, but they were successfully fended off by the Brit, who then broke the Canadian immediately in the next game.
A further break in the penultimate game and a hold to love to serve out the match puts Boulter n the second round, where she will face recently crowned Washington champion Coco Gauff.
Katie Boulter [Q] v Coco Gauff [6] | H2H: Boulter leads 1-0
| Katie Boulter [Q] v Coco Gauff [6] | H2H: Boulter leads 1-0 |
| WTA Montreal | Canada |
| Hard | Prize Money: $17,930 |
| First on Court Rogers at 11am (4pm BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (Hard 2023)
| H2H: | Katie Boulter (WR 72) | Coco Gauff (WR 7) |
| Tournament Previous Best | R1 (2018) | QF (2021) |
| 1st Serve Return Points Won % | 42.4 | 37.6 |
| Return Points Won % | 47.8 | 44.7 |
| Break Point Conversion % | 50.5 | 44.0 |
| Break Points Saved % | 50.0 | 61.9 |
| Total Points Won % | 53.8 | 53.3 |
Boulter has bolstered her hard-court stats over the year with time spent on the lower ITF tours during the run up to the French Open, reaching the final in Gifu and the semi-finals in Fukuoka.
She can also draw a little confidence from having beaten Gauff in the arranged tournaments during the pandemic, in the lead up to the Australian Open in 2021.
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Preview & Prediction
Gauff was in complete control in Washington dominated Maria Sakkari to lift the title, and really seems to have put the socking early exit in Wimbledon right behind her. She is a two-time quarter-finalist in the last two editions of the event (including Toronto last year).
Boulter will have to hang her confidence on their head-to-head and her stats over the year across all tours, and was in great form against Marino, having come through qualifying.
This is a huge ask for Boulter, without a doubt, bit also it gives the Brit a great chance to measure herself against the players she absolutely should be aspiring to face week in, week out on the tour.
Prediction: Gauff in straight sets.
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