Katie Boulter recorded Britain’s seventh victory at Wimbledon yesterday, in what was a landmark day for sport in this country.
Naturally, when this Grand Slam rolls back around, interest peaks across the nation.
And, when the weather is as sweltering as it has been in recent days, it really does encourage people to get out and get involved.
What enhances this inspiration to play tennis is British success, of which there has been little aside from Andy Murray’s one-man crusade across the last decade or so.
But now, it really feels like the strength in depth is clear for all to see, evidenced by Britain’s performance on Wimbledon day one.
Katie Boulter reacts to Wimbledon win over Paula Badosa
Emma Raducanu reacted to Britain’s Wimbledon history yesterday, with Katie Boulter arguably providing top billing with her upset victory over the ninth seed Paula Badosa.
And whilst the 28-year-old was buoyed by their shared success too, she also sought to emphasise the great personal endeavour that went into forging such a huge victory.
In speaking at her post-match press conference, she sought to dispel what many might be thinking about her match, and admitted: ‘Yeah, it really is the little wins behind the scenes that people probably don’t really realise.
‘I think a lot of people will look at today and go, that’s a great result, but what people don’t realise is that I’ve tried to play the way that I want to play in that match, and just like you said there, I took it to her, and actually, I felt like I won the match rather than I relied on someone else’s mistakes or, something else, you know, like.
‘I feel like I went out, I committed to my game. I laid it on the line, I put my heart on the line and I just went for it and, you know, it’s a struggle because I feel like, you know, the match at Queen’s that I played against in my second round, I got a little bit passive after I played a really good first set, and that hurt me a lot because I felt like I didn’t play the way that I wanted to play.
‘I didn’t commit to my shots. I just kind of hoped that I would get a top 10, or she wasn’t top 10 at the time, but I hoped that I would get a good win. And you just don’t get given those matches. You have to win them.
‘And that kind of rung true a little bit today in my mind when I went down an early break in the third, and I just said to myself, I’m gonna have to fight for it here and just go for it. And it paid off, ultimately. So, yeah, I’m really pleased with the little wins of today.’
Katie Boulter gets Britain’s biggest win on Wimbledon day one
It’s fair to say that Boulter’s win over Badosa marked Britain’s biggest by some distance yesterday, although there were some other notable ones.
After all, by world ranking, it is comfortably the most impressive, with the Spaniard ranked ninth heading into Wimbledon this year.
Boulter was aggressive and full of intent, and was good value for her battling victory, serving well throughout too.
However, elsewhere, Sonay Kartal’s shock win over Jelena Ostapenko certainly ran her compatriot close, whilst Emma Raducanu claimed an easy victory over fellow Brit Mimi Xu.
