Two of tennis’ brightest young talents looked in sizzling form in the summer sun as they booked themselves a spot in the final qualifying round of the AEGON Open in Nottingham. Ashleigh Barty and Katie Boulter–each in the midst of a major comeback–upset higher ranked players to move within one victory of the main draw.
Katie Boulter powered her way to a 7-5 7-6(5) victory over the #213 ranked Ukrainian Olga Savchuk, winning on a tie-break for the second day in a row. It was plain sailing for Ashleigh Barty who–after dishing out two bagels in her first round–won 6-4 6-3 against Paula Cristina Goncalves.
Both players were absent throughout the 2015 season for remarkably different reasons. Boulter briefly appeared in January last year before retiring after just one set. A combination of illness and injury then conspired against her to force her to miss thirteen months of action.
Barty, meanwhile, was in the midst of a rather remarkable career change. Despite a highly successful junior career which included three Grand Slam finals, Barty made the decision to step away from the sport and instead seek a career in cricket. After seventeen months at the crease she decided to make the switch back to the baseline and have a second crack at the professional circuit.
It was February this year that both finally appeared on a tennis court in competitive action. Katie Boulter looked as though she had barely been away as she won three matches to progress to the semifinals of a Futures event in Glasgow. Since then she has immersed herself back on the tour, competing first in the UK and then out in Egypt–where she won her first Futures title in two years.
Around the other side of the globe, Barty took a slightly different approach. Throughout February and March, the Australian played a string of doubles tournaments in her home country, claiming three titles from four finals. It was not until the grass court season began last week in Eastbourne that she graced the court on her own. As with Boulter, she made an inspired return to her singles career, reaching the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Alison Riske.
They may have taken different paths on their contrasting comebacks, but this week they are both confident that they are on the same road to the main draw of the AEGON Open.
Barty won Saturday’s first round match 6-0 6-0 but started today’s clash with Paula Cristina Goncalves in laborious fashion, getting broken in her second service game. As the set progressed, the youngster started to find her range, breaking back later in the set to tie things up at 4-4. She sealed the first set with a glorious cross-court forehand to break once again and take the opener 6-4.
As the second set began it became clear that the only problem facing her on court was the WTA badge on her top, which repeatedly fell off during points. The Australian broke to love and quickly found herself 4-1 up. Her use of the slice backhand was working superbly on the grass and she eventually served out the match to win 6-4 6-3.
The other teenager also progressed in straight sets. Katie Boulter looked aggressive from the outset of her match with Ukraine’s Olga Savchuk. The Brit was firing winners off both flanks and broke her opponent midway through the opening set. Boulter’s serve had been causing her opponent all manner of problems but it let her down at the decisive moment, at she was broken whilst serving for the opening set. The Ukrainian’s variety and fondness for the drop shot briefly looked to be disrupting Boulter’s momentum but she re-focused and broke to sneak the first set 7-5.
Dropping the first set looked to have taken the wind out of Savchuk’s sails, as Boulter raced to a 5-2 double-break lead. However, the lack of experience at this level began to tell as nerves crept into the youngster’s game. A couple of edgy service games saw the Ukrainian fight back and force a tie-break. She had not lost either of her previous tie-breaks this year and that winning run continued as she sealed the match with a crowd-pleasing down the line backhand winner.
Both 19-year-olds still have to overcome one more hurdle to make it into the main draw but on today’s form they have an excellent chance. Barty finds herself facing Tamira Paszek–who she beat less than seven days ago in Eastbourne. Meanwhile, Boulter will need a career best ranking scalp in order make her first ever WTA main draw, as she faces World #117 Kai-Lin Zhang.
In the other two qualifying matches, Britain’s Tara Moore is facing Shuko Aoyama of Japan whilst Michelle Larcher de Brito takes on Andrea Hlavackova in a first meeting between the Portuguese and Czech players.
The first round of the AEGON Open begins on Monday at the National Tennis Centre in Nottingham with Johanna Konta and Karolina Pliskova in action.
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