It was an overlooked achievement last week in Washington: Against talented Serb Aleksandra Krunic, Katie Boulter only dropped a game more than Johanna Konta did against Serena Williams in the first round. Krunic, coincidently, knocked Konta out of the US Open in the first round last year.
It was hard work in the final round ofWTA Rogers Cup qualifying for Boulter, but she eventually beat the fledgling Canadian world #730, Leylah Ferandez, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Boulter’s WTA Progress nearly halted by Canadian 15-year-old: Leylah Annie Fernandez
Boulter was scheduled to play the in-form Donna Vekic in the first round of qualifying. However, Vekic was unavailable due to her continued Citi Open participation. As a result, Boulter received a bye. Instead of facing Vekic in her first match, she met Leylah Annie Fernandez
22-year-old Brit Katie Boulter is starting to come of age and is earning her time on the WTA tour. Unfortunately, such is the surfeit of young talent breaking into the WTA tour at the moment–you never know when you will come up against a feisty, prodigious 15-year-old. It was Katie Boulter’s turn to be blindsided in Rogers Cup qualifying. Fernandez, last week, was beaten by fellow Canadian Bianca Andreescu in the 2nd round of an ITF event in Granby. Tennis is a funny old game. Fernandez played beyond that form in giving Boulter a mighty scare.
Remember the name: Leylah Annie Fernandez
Unlike the other young guns making their presence felt on the WTA Tour, Fernandez doesn’t have a shining Juniors pedigree to speak about. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon in the jJniors. However, the way she kept her composure after Boulter battled her way back into the match and taking the 2nd set, was mightily impressive. There is more to come from this 15-year-old Canadian.
Katie Boulter needs to learn from this character-building match & keep climbing the rankings
Although on rankings alone the Krunic victory was better, this recent win shows Boulter’s ability to re-assess her tactics in match. Also, in her defeat against American Ali Klick last week, Boulter seemed to run out of steam. The World #118 drew upon reserves of character and energy to get through against Fernandez.
Although it doesn’t like look much on paper, this was a good win for Boulter. Fernandez possessed a Wozniacki-like ability to just hang in there. Boulter name has match time on the surface that she can take into the main draw. She needs to keep chalking up the victories in order to have a shot at making the US Open.
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