Katie Boulter was pushed in her opening Australian Open victory, beating Rebecca Marino in three close fought sets.
Boulter beat her Canadian opponent, 6-4 3-6 7-5, despite hitting 38 unforced errors in the first round match in Melbourne.
This was the 28-year-old’s first match since the United Cup, where Boulter nearly beat Iga Swiatek in Sydney.
Katie Boulter helps British players make history at Australian Open
Boulter’s win means that six British players have reached the second round of the Australian Open singles draw for the first time.
This includes four women with Emma Raducanu beating Ekaterina Alexandrova, as well as wins for Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart.
In the men’s singles draw, Jack Draper was forced to come from behind to beat Mariano Navone in five sets.
While Jacob Fearnley won his Australian Open debut, in what could be Nick Kyrgios’ final singles match in Melbourne.
When being told that she had made history for her nation in the post-match press conference, Boulter appeared to be very happy when reacting to the news.
“That’s so great to see,” said Boulter. “It’s awesome to have some positivity coming out around British tennis.
“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.”
How does Alex de Minaur help Katie Boulter?
Boulter has recently got engaged to Alex de Minaur, with tennis’ power couple both winning their first round matches at the Australian Open.
After De Minaur beat Botic van de Zandschulp, the world number eight headed to support Boulter for the latter stages of her match against Marino.
Boulter spoke about what De Minaur’s support means to her, “Secondly, yeah, having Alex there, he is my support system. He is someone who has helped me through the rough moments and the good moments.
“He kind of leads me, I would say. I think he’s shown himself what an incredible tennis player he is, and he’s ranked top 10 in the world and has been there for a whole year, which is not an easy thing to do.
“That shows me a lot of things, and I have learnt so many different ways of becoming a better tennis player, probably ones that you probably don’t even realize about, not just the easy ones that you see. Having him come out and support means pretty much everything to me. Having the extra positivity from my bench makes the difference.”
It won’t get any easier for Boulter in her second round match at the Australian Open as she will play former top 10 player Veronika Kudermetova.
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