Katie Boulter was relieved to avoid being defaulted after inadvertently hitting a ball towards spectators during her US Open second-round win over Wang Yafan.
The British number one had just lost a 20-shot rally in the first set when a ball kid threw her the ball and she swatted it away, accidentally sending it spinning into a gangway in front of the crowd.
Had the ball hit a spectator Boulter would have been disqualified, but the chair umpire merely issued a code violation for ball abuse.
View this post on Instagram“Firstly, the safety of everyone is the most important thing for me,” she said. “It was completely unintentional, and luckily it wasn’t anywhere close to anyone.“But for a second I was feeling pretty bad, if I’m honest.
“Of course there’s a lot of ifs. At the end of the day I’ve got to play with the facts. It didn’t (hit someone). It would be my worst nightmare, it really would. Completely unintentional, as well.
“Yeah, it was an unfortunate situation, but we moved through, and we managed to get a win.”
The 27-year-old went on to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time after a gutsy 5-7 6-1 6-4 victory over China’s Wang.
As well as the ball incident, in a tight first set Boulter retrieved an early break, and had three set points on the Wang serve.
But she was unable to convert any of them and Wang promptly broke to wrap up the set.
However Boulter, from Leicester, cleared her head impressively and dominated the second set to level the match.
Having broken again for 5-4 in the decider she suffered a horrible wobble, throwing in two double faults in the first three points.
But once again Boulter recovered her composure and wrapped up a fine win when Wang hit the net.
“I thought it was an absolute battle,” she added. “I worked really, really hard. I had a lot of chances in the first set. I didn’t quite get over the line.
“I think there were a few nerves, I’m not entirely sure why, but there were a few nerves in the first.
“After we finished that set I relaxed a bit and started to be a little bit more aggressive and it really paid off.”
There was disappointment, although not a major surprise, for Britain’s other remaining woman, Jodie Burrage.
The 24-year-old equipped herself well against second seed and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka but bowed out 6-3 6-2 inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“Obviously not the result I was looking for, but I had a pretty tough opponent,” said Burrage. “I thought she played really well today. She served really well, especially in the big moments.
“But I’m happy with how I played in a way and happy with how I was on the court.
“It’s a big occasion and you’re playing a big player like that. And I’m happy with the way I went about it. I didn’t feel out of place out there at all.”
Sinner: Italy handled the pressure to retain Davis Cup
Jannik Sinner believes his Italy team-mates handled the pressure of representing their country well as they retained the Davis Cup on Sunday.
Italy beat the Netherlands in the final, with Matteo Berrettini and Sinner both winning their singles matches in straight sets to clinch the title.
They are the first team to retain the Davis Cup since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013, and, after also winning the Billie Jean King Cup last week, they are only the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years.
Sinner, on the back of an incredible season that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals, became just the second player in the Open Era to finish a calendar year by winning at least one set in every match throughout a season since Roger Federer in 2005.
"We are very happy to be back here holding this trophy. It feels like we are in Italy," Sinner said.
"You have a different pressure and a different weight of having Italy on your shoulders - I think we handled it really well.
"If it was not important, I would not be here. For me, it means so much to me."
However, Sinner's year has been disrupted by an ongoing doping controversy, which has cast doubt on his immediate future in the sport.
"Of course, it's [the doping case] in the head a little bit," Sinner said.
"The most important part is all the people who know me as a human being trust me - that's why I kept playing the level I have.
"I was emotionally a bit down, a bit heartbroken. Sometimes life gives you difficulties, and you just have to [deal with] it."
Berrettini missed last year's Davis Cup through injury, but still went to Malaga to support his team as they won the title.
"I would tell him 'don't give up'," Berrettini said of his former self from 12 months ago. "Last year was really nice to be here, but at the same time, I remember a moment, like, why did I come?
"But after the whole week, I said it was really important for you to come, because I support them, but also for me. I took so much energy from those matches.
"I once again realised how much I care about the Davis Cup. And living those moments, I took all this energy, and I was like next year, you're going to be here, you're going to be fighting for Italy.
"I used that as an engine for the training sessions and everything that happened afterwards."
Sinner guides Italy to back-to-back Davis Cup triumphs
Jannik Sinner capped his outstanding year by helping Italy retain the Davis Cup, beating Tallon Griekspoor to ensure Italy downed the Netherlands 2-0 in Sunday's final.
World number one Sinner overcame Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 after Matteo Berrettini had registered a 6-4 6-2 win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the opener.
Sinner saved the only two break points of the first set as Griekspoor put up a fight, but the Italian put on a show in the tie-break to inch ahead.
Griekspoor hit back after giving up an early break in the second set, but Sinner immediately responded with two further breaks, with the Dutchman double-faulting for the first then wildly miscuing with a backhand for the second.
Sinner was untroubled from then on, sealing a triumphant end to a spectacular season.
The Italian has only dropped one set throughout that streak, finishing a year that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals with a 73-6 singles record.
Data Debrief: Sensational Sinner leads the way
This has been a truly remarkable year for Sinner, who has become the first man in the Open Era to win at least one set in every match throughout a season since Roger Federer in 2005.
His victory ensured Italy became the first team to retain the Davis Cup since the Czech Republic triumphed in 2012 and 2013.
Italy also captured the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week, and they are just the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years, after the Czech Republic in 2012 and Russia in 2021.
Sinner and Berrettini send defending champions Italy into Davis Cup final
Jannik Sinner's victory over Alex de Minaur clinched Italy's place in another Davis Cup final, with Matteo Berrettini also victorious as the defending champions beat Australia 2-0.
Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 last year, and they will have an opportunity to defend their crown against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break.
That teed up Sinner to close out Italy's victory, with the world number one overcoming De Minaur 6-3 6-4, the same scoreline he beat the Australian by at the ATP Finals earlier this month.
Speaking after his victory in Malaga, Sinner said: "It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.
"It's a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Obviously, it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis. It was very high quality.
"Hopefully, this can give us some confidence for [Sunday]. It's going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back for Italy
Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.
They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).
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