Anne Keothavong has backed Katie Boulter to give “vulnerable” defending champion Elena Rybakina a run for her money at Wimbledon.
The British number one is through to the third round for the second year in a row and has been rewarded with a plum tie against the third seed.
Rybakina has built impressively on her first grand slam title, reaching the final of the Australian Open and winning the big events in Indian Wells and Rome, but she came into the event under-cooked after illness and has looked shaky at times in her opening two matches.
Keothavong, the captain of Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team, said of Boulter, who won her first WTA Tour event in Nottingham last month: “She’s been playing some fantastic tennis.
“It’s not just this tournament but over the last few weeks. It’s taken time for all of that to come together. And the biggest thing is she’s been able to remain fit and healthy for a long period of time, which for Katie has always been a challenge.
“It doesn’t get any easier again but Rybakina hasn’t really come into this year’s champs playing lots of tennis. I think this is a good time for Katie to play against her, or for anyone really to play against her, she has looked vulnerable at times.
“And, if you were to be in Rybakina’s shoes, you’re up against a British number one who is popular, who the British public are now familiar with, who will have the majority of that crowd supporting her, which is a situation I don’t think Rybakina has found herself in really anywhere around the world too often.
“Katie, she’s a big-match player, she will absolutely love it. It won’t be a daunting experience for her, which I think is a big thing. It’s not the first time for her going out on Centre Court. Having had that previous experience, that will help carry her.
“It’s a great opportunity. And it’s one where she can swing with freedom and go out there and play.”
Boulter claimed the biggest victory of her career so far in the second round last year against former finalist Karolina Pliskova on Centre Court.
“I think I’ve got the whole entire thing in my memory,” she said. “It was an incredible match. I still think about the time that I served it out. That’s something that I draw on.
“I’m already excited to play against a top player and have a go. I think they’re the moments I get excited for because ultimately it’s a time for me to test myself.”
Boulter will hit a career-high ranking around 70 even if she loses on Saturday and Keothavong highlighted the greater variety she has added to her game under coach Biljana Veselinovic as a key factor in her progress.
“You can see she’s trying to use the drop shot more often, she is trying to look to use width more often,” said Keothavong. “So it’s not just straight flat-ball hitting through the court.
“And that’s the work she has been doing and focusing on with Biljana. And I do think Biljana has been fantastic for her. The team she has around her, they’re all good people. And she’s had some consistency there in that area.”
Boulter is also very settled in her personal life and was out on Court 18 on Friday watching long-term boyfriend Alex De Minaur in his second-round loss to Matteo Berrettini.
Boulter has spoken about how much she has learned from the Australian’s grounded nature, and Keothavong believes they are a good influence on each other.
“Alex is so down to earth and so lovely,” said the former British number one. “They are sickly in a very cute kind of way.
“You can tell how much they care for each other and how much they support each other and it was great to see him court-side supporting her after his match and you see it within their families as well.
“It’s hard enough being a tennis player, the emotional highs and lows. You need people around you who are going to stay level-headed and not look too far ahead or get too excited but help you keep your feet on the ground.”
Rybakina does not expect the partisan atmosphere to be too much of a challenge, saying: “For sure the atmosphere is going to be a bit different. The crowd won’t be supporting me that much.
“I’m sure it’s going to be good. Just hopefully I’m going to win this match. I’ll try my best. She’s a tough player. Her game is aggressive. Also she has a good serve. It’s going to be tough one.”
Madrid Open: Nadal roars to victory against De Minaur
Rafael Nadal delighted his home fans at the Madrid Open as he roared to an impressive victory over Alex de Minaur on Saturday.
The Spaniard battled to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 victory to earn his first win over a top-20 player in the world rankings since the ATP Finals back in 2022.
De Minaur had beaten Nadal last week in Barcelona, but the five-time Madrid champion was not to be denied this time in front of a crowd which included King Felipe VI along with football stars Zinedine Zidane and Vinicius Jr.
Emerging triumphant from an epic 77-minute opening set proved decisive, with Nadal more comfortable in the second as De Minaur missed an opportunity to become the first player to beat him in consecutive weeks since Novak Djokovic achieved the feat way back in 2011.
Nadal will take on Pedro Cachin in the third round after the Argentine dumped out Fances Tiafoe in three sets.
"I'm super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex and play over two hours," Nadal said, per the ATP Tour website.
"It means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke, so I can't thank enough everybody here.
"It still needs time [until I am back to my best]. I think for moments it has been a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things, but still on and off.
"But I really believe that tennis hasn't been an issue for the last two years. More the physical issues.
"If I am able to play weeks in a row and if I am able to play tennis, then I'm going to see how far I can go and how competitive I could be. But that's not the case yet, just step by step and let's see how I recover."
Elsewhere at the tournament, Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, playing as the top seed at a Masters 1000 event for the first time, cruised to victory over fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego to start his campaign in style.
It took Sinner just 69 minutes to win 6-0 6-3 and improve to 26-2 in a remarkable 2024 season so far.
“I know Lorenzo quite well and we have a good friendship off the court, we play Davis Cup together, we practise a lot together,” Sinner said.
“The mental side was a little bit different than it used to be, so I'm just happy how I handled the situation. He didn't play at his best. I think we saw this. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”
Progress was harder to come by for Daniil Medvedev as he lost the opening set to Matteo Arnaldi, though the third seed eventually battled through 2-6 6-4 6-4 to book a third-round clash with American Sebastian Korda.
There was a surprise result, though, with Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro ending the fine recent form of Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 6-4 6-4 victory.
Tsitsipas was 10-1 on clay this year going into the match, but the sixth seed crashed to a shock defeat just a week after Monteiro had lost in the first round of a Challenger Tour event in Portugal, marking a rapid reversal of his fortunes.
“Every week you have a new opportunity," said Monteiro. “These past few weeks I wasn’t feeling really good on the court. I was trying to do well at Challengers but it didn’t work.
“I just kept up the hard work, day by day. Even when I was not feeling good and not winning matches, I kept believing in myself, and this week it has paid off.
"For sure one of the biggest wins of my career. I knew it was a really tough match and I tried to just believe in myself all the time."
Sunday’s matches will see Nadal’s compatriot Carlos Alcaraz continue his campaign with a third-round clash against Thiago Seyboth Wild.
Swiatek soars into Madrid Open last 16 after dropping just two games against Cirstea
Iga Swiatek stormed through to the Madrid Open last 16 following a dominant straight-sets victory over Sorana Cirstea.
The world number one dropped just two games as she inflicted a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 rout on her Romanian opponent in the Spanish capital.
Swiatek, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's event, will play Sara Sorribes Tormo in the round of 16 after the Spaniard defeated two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.
The Pole is now 26-4 for the season, in which she has already triumphed at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Open, as she eyes the ninth WTA 1000 singles title of her career.
Data debrief
Swiatek is through to her sixth round of 16 from seven main-draw appearances in WTA 1000 events on clay (85.7 per cent) - the highest percentage rate among players with at least five such appearances since the format's introduction in 2009.
The three-time French Open champion also boasts the best WTA match win rate of any player since 2000 on clay (87 per cent). Overall, only Chris Evert (94.5 per cent), Margaret Court (89.5 per cent) and Steffi Graf (89.2 per cent) boast a higher percentage in the Open Era.
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
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