Six British players have won their first-round matches at the Australian Open for the first time in history after Katie Boulter held her nerve in the tense final stages of a difficult contest against Rebecca Marino of Canada to a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win.
“It’s awesome to have some positivity coming out around British tennis,” said Boulter. “It’s been coming for a long time. It’s just the beginning. I really think these girls and guys have been working so hard, and everyone deserves a bit of credit. Obviously it’s a great start for everyone, and let’s hope we can keep that going.”
Boulter, the British No 1 and 22nd seed, battled past one of the biggest servers in the women’s game. Marino breezed through her service games and eviscerated the ball off both wings in the final two sets. Despite her growing frustration and a lack of rhythm, Boulter held on to her serve throughout the third set before putting Marino under immense pressure in her final service game.
“There was a lot of pressure placed on my service games to try to get through them,” she said. “I felt like it was a mental battle in the end, and I managed to do it eventually. I’m really pleased to be in the second round, because ultimately these matches for me are the most important ones. Finding a way when someone is swinging free is the difference between the top players and the ones that are ranked slightly lower.”
As the Australian crowd supported her deep into the night, Boulter was cheered on by her fiance Alex de Minaur, who rushed to Kia Arena shortly after his 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win over Botic van de Zandschulp on Rod Laver Arena to support her in the final moments of her match.
Boulter’s victory moved her into the second round alongside Emma Raducanu, Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Jack Draper and Jacob Fearnley as six of the eight British players in the main draw progressed. She will next face the former top 10 player Veronika Kudermetova.
Earlier on Tuesday, Cameron Norrie said his preparations for the Australian Open had been badly affected by illness and he had “barely practised” before the tournament after he suffered a tough 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 defeat to Matteo Berrettini, the former No 7 and 2021 Wimbledon finalist, in the first round.
“I haven’t been able to prepare as well as I could,” said Norrie. “I’ve been pretty sick in Auckland, then coming here, just barely practised. Honestly, I’ve been feeling the ball so well. Pre-season was excellent. It was a bit unfortunate with the timing. I definitely gave myself the best chance. Just hit the wall after like an hour and a bit. I was not able to stay sharp on the court. A bit disappointing. It is what it is. Most importantly just get my health back to 100%, get some rest. Just tough to sustain that today.”
Meanwhile, Draper said he is prepared for a difficult atmosphere in his second round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday night in Melbourne: “That’s definitely going to bring the best out of me,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a really good atmosphere. Whether the crowd’s with me or against me, I remember what it was like playing Futures [tournaments] with no one watching. That’s what I play for, to play in front of a lot of people and entertain.”
