Katie Boulter won a back-and-forth three-set battle with Viktoriya Tomova on Thursday afternoon to book her spot in the Wimbledon third round. The world No. 89 is the last remaining British hopeful in the women’s draw, with her latest victory extending her lonely voyage deeper into the tournament.
A break of serve for Boulter in the very first game drew a huge cheer from the crowd on Court 12 and gave the Brit serious belief, setting the tone for what turned out to be a completely dominant first set.
With Boulter’s big hitting from the baseline putting Tomova on the defensive, the British No. 1 was brimming with confidence, racking up game after game as the Bulgarian challenger found herself unable to settle into a rhythm.
Even when Tomova thought she had finally outdone Boulter with a well-judged drop shot at the end of the first set, the Brit ate up the ground to keep herself in the point, and she flashed a knowing smile at her team when the shot went unanswered.
Boulter couldn’t have asked for more than a first-set bagel to settle any lingering second-round nerves, but Tomova relished the reset, putting a long-awaited game on the board at the start of the second, and with the weight lifted, she broke the 26-year-old to finally pile on some pressure.
The Leicester-born home favourite showed tremendous battling spirit to break straight back, but her resurgence didn’t last long as a much-improved Tomova, ranked No. 99 in the world, kicked on to take the second set 6-3.
In keeping with the character of a match that saw the pendulum swing one way and then the other, Boulter held to love to kick off third and then received two doses of good fortune after hitting the net to earn a hard-fought break of serve.
The Brit’s momentum proved difficult to stop as the support of the home crowd helped her through a one-sided third set, with Tomova losing steam. Putting together a strong finish, which included winning a mesmerising rally in the final game, Boulter took the match 6-0 3-6 6-3 in just under two hours, adding to the win she notched over Daria Saville in the first round.
Boulter has now made it to the third round at SW19 for the second year on the trot – the furthest she has ever been in a Grand Slam tournament.
But the difficulty of opposition is poised to ramp up from No. 99-ranked Tomova as either Alize Cornet or last year’s champion, Elena Rybakina, are up next for Boulter at the All England Club.
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