British fan favorite Katie Boulter dished out 27 winners while producing a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 victory over No. 9 seed Paula Badosa of Spain in a Wimbledon first-round match at the All England Club in London.
Boulter saved 4 of 7 break points and held a 6-5 edge in aces while playing on Centre Court. It is the 28-year-old’s fourth career Top 10 victory.
“This court is the epitome of what every single British child dreams of playing on and winning on,” Boulter said. “I felt like a little girl again. I’m just super happy to be through today.”
Badosa had 15 winners against 21 unforced errors. Boulter had 23 unforced errors as she won in one hour, 51 minutes.
“I played some really good stuff and I’m happy to be through to the next round,” Boulter said.
Boulter will next face lucky loser Solana Sierra of Argentina in the second round. Sierra posted a 6-2, 7-6 (8) victory over Olivia Gadecki of Australia.
Sierra lost in the final round of qualifying but earned a spot in the main draw when Belgium’s Greet Minnen withdrew shortly before the Monday match due to a back injury.
Sixth-seeded Madison Keys was put to the test by Belgium’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse before pulling out a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-5 victory.
Keys had a 28-18 edge in winners and saved 6 of 11 break points in a match that took two hours, 41 minutes. Keys had five aces.
“Really tough match,” Keys said. “She played really well; obviously she was suffering a few issues as it was quite toasty out here. My serve got me through that match.”
Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus posted a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Canada’s Carson Branstine. No. 4 Jasmine Paolini of Italy rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
No. 12 Diana Shnaider of Russia knocked off Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 7-6 (5), 6-3, while No. 13 Amanda Anisimova sailed to a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
No. 14 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Anna Bondar of Hungary, while Brit Sonay Kartal posted a stunning 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 upset of No. 20 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. No. 21 Beatriz Haddad Maia beat Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova 7-6 (7), 6-4.
No. 22 Donna Vekic of Croatia sailed to a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Kimberly Birrell of Australia, while No. 24 Elise Mertens of Belgium was a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Czech qualifier Linda Fruhvirtova.
No. 29 Leylah Fernandez of Canada posted a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Great Britain’s Hannah Klugman. Czech No. 30 seed Linda Noskova notched a 6-2, 6-4 win over Bernarda Pera, and No. 31 Ashlyn Krueger was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain.
Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, picked up a 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over No. 32 seed McCartney Kessler.
Among unseeded action, Japan’s Naomi Osaka beat Australian Talia Gibson 6-4, 7-6 (4) and Emma Raducanu beat fellow Brit Mingge Xu 6-3, 6-3.
Former Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur of Tunisia retired while down 7-6 (5), 2-0 to Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria. Jabeur reportedly was having difficulty breathing.
Ann Li advanced with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win over Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic. Germany’s Laura Siegemund prevailed over Peyton Stearns 6-4, 6-2.
Other unseeded players who won Monday included Czech Marie Bouzkova, Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Kamilla Rakhimova, Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, Italy’s Renata Zarazua, Hungary’s Dalma Galfi, Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Spain’s Cristina Busca, Germany’s Eva Lys and France’s Diane Parry.
–Field Level Media
