Katie Boulter was blown away by defending champion Elena Rybakina as British singles interest at Wimbledon came to an end in the third round.
Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last 32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.
Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court following two lengthy matches and a rain delay, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering.
After some positive results earlier in the week it has been a chastening two days for British tennis, with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady all falling on Friday.
Boulter pulled off the best win of her career in the second round here last year, defeating former finalist Karolina Pliskova, and in seven previous matches against top-10 players had only failed to win at least a set on one occasion.
She handled her status as favourite well to see off Daria Saville and Viktoriya Tomova in the first two rounds and was looking forward to having a crack at the defending champion.
Rybakina was a significant step up but the Kazakh had been shaky at times in her opening two rounds having come into the tournament under prepared because of illness.
She possesses probably the fiercest strike in the women’s game, though, as well as the best serve following Serena Williams’ retirement, and she hit her stride straight away.
Boulter has been working on adding more variety to her flat-hitting game but with options can come indecision and a couple of ill-advised drop shots cost her a break of serve for 3-1.
First-strike tennis usually favours Boulter but the power coming from Rybakina’s racket, particularly on her serve, was on another level.
The third seed, who remarkably is the first women’s defending champion to reach the fourth round here since Williams back in 2016, broke again for 5-1 and wrapped up the first set in 26 minutes.
Boulter’s support camp, including boyfriend Alex De Minaur, tried to lift her, and she halted the run of games against her at seven by holding for 1-2 in the second set.
That was as good as it got, though, with the score the same as last year’s third round, when Boulter lost to Frenchwoman Harmony Tan.
It has nevertheless been a positive fortnight and a transformative grass-court season for Boulter, who will be ranked just outside the top 70 on Monday and now has the chance to really push on.
Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid Open quarter-finals
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid quarter-finals
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Nadal goes the distance to reach Madrid Open last 16
Rafael Nadal battled to victory over three hours on the court against Pedro Cachin at the Madrid Open on Monday to seal a 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win to reach the last 16.
The former world number one looked back to his best as he cruised through the opening set but was pushed hard in the second by Cachin.
Nadal came from behind to level at 5-5, but Cachin eventually sealed the set on his third set point.
The Spaniard then rallied in the third set, cutting down on his errors to regain control and advance to the fourth round at a tour-level event for the first time since 2022.
Nadal is one step away from booking his place in a 10th consecutive quarter-final in Madrid and will face Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday in the next round after the 30th seed overcame Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in two sets.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
