Katie Boulter battles back for hard-fought first-round victory at Queen's
Katie Boulter battled back to beat Australia's Ajla Tomljanović and secure a hard-fought first round victory at Queen's.
The Leicestershire star and British No.1 clinched a 7-6 1-6 6-4 win over the qualifier to reach the second round of the LTA's HSBC Championships.
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Boulter, 28, took the lead in a thrilling first set battle before a difficult second saw Tomljanović brush the Brit aside and win seven games in a row to force a decider.
It was a tough take for Boulter who admitted that she was proud in her ability to bounce back in the toughest moments.
"I knew it was going to be a really tough battle, she's someone who has a lot of credibility on these courts," she said.
"She's such a tough competitor and I thought she played really well and was very competitive which made it tough for me.
"It was difficult for me to get steps in since the ball was coming so quickly but I think I did so well to stay mentally strong.
"Sometimes these wins are the biggest ones as they are the ones that give you the confidence."
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It was a topsy-turvy match from the start for Boulter who was immediately broken by Tomljanović before enacting revenge and winning three games in a row to put herself on top.
Tomljanović soon levelled the scores in what became a recurring tale throughout the first set as Boulter pulled ahead and the Australian battled to keep things equal.
It led to a thrilling tie-break to decide the opener, with the two going toe-to-toe on points before Boulter took the lead and secured the set 7-4 with a clinical backhand winner.
It was soon clear that the duo would go to a third set decider as Tomljanović jumped on a series of service errors by Boulter and took the lead, winning a stunning seven games in a row.
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Boulter returned the favour early in the third and broke Tomljanović twice in a much-needed burst of confidence.
And having looked down and out just half an hour earlier, it all came down to a battle of mental strength in the end as Boulter completed the comeback and secured her place in the second round.
"I actually think she returned extremely well today," she said.
"She's one of the better returners and that's why she makes it so hard on these courts. She barely gave me any room, I had to basically do a perfect serve to really get anything from it.
So there's a lot of credit to her there as she put a lot of pressure on me as the server.
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"At times I missed a few too many first serves and lost my rhythm a little bit," she said. "I think I'll practice that tomorrow but I'm very happy with a win today."
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
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