Number 2 seed given huge fright by Brit Katie Boulter

Britain’s world number 219  Katie Boulter produced a performance fit for Centre Court this evening, but ultimately went out to the number 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in a match which lasted more than two hours.

In a contest which see-sawed one way then the other, the Belarusian was pushed all the way by Boulter, who went down 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Boulter broke in the very first game of the match, but her opponent hit straight back with a break of her own.

In the very early stages Boulter appeared to struggle with Sabalenka’s strong serve and aggressive all-round game.

She was forced to save break points in her second service game – but then began to grow into the match. A fantastic body shot straight down the middle brought up two break-points for the Brit in the seventh game, and Sabalenka then served up a double fault to give Boulter a 4-3 lead before she served out a love game with the new balls for a 5-3 lead.

And although Sabalenka held her next service game, the ardent Leicester City fan held her nerve to take the set.

The number 2 seed came out fighting in the first game of the second set, with a simple hold, and in the next game threatened to break at 0-30, but the Brit produced a stunning lob and then forced errors from Sabalenka at just the right time to level things up at 1-1.

The players held serve until the sixth game when Boulter was broken. She served a double fault to give Sabalenka break point, then hit a backhand into the net to give her opponent a 4-2 lead – a score which quickly moved to 5-2 as the Belarusian held to love.

Boulter held in the next game and had a break-back point in the ninth game, but the tournament’s second favourite held her nerve to recover and take the set 6-3.

The Brit didn’t buckle. She held serve in the first game of the second set and produced some brilliant strokes to stay in the match.

But a fantastic return of serve – followed by a crashing overhead – from the Belarusian allowed her to force an early break at 2-1, clinched thanks to a long forehand from Boulter.

Boulter would not go away – she broke back to make it 2-2 but then let a 40-0 lead on her serve slip, conceding five consecutive points, and a 3-2 deficit.

Sabalenca then held serve to love to make it 4-2 in the decider.

But still she could not shake off the Brit. First Boulter reduced the deficit to 4-3 during a game in which she produced arguably the shot of the match, a fine cross court backhand lob which wrong-footed her opponent, who was running the other way.

Then came the game of the match, Boulter working six break-point opportunities for herself before Sabalenka held firm to take a 5-3 lead – and finishing the match off in her next service game.