Katie Boulter said: ‘Everything was horrendous,’ as she was upset by world No 74 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro at the US Open – in a match Tim Henman later insisted the British No1 should have won ‘pretty routinely’.
Earlier this week the 31st seed stated her determination to make a deep run at a Grand Slam but this was a limp defeat against a modest opponent. As a 4-2 first-set lead spiralled into a 7-5, 7-5 defeat and Boulter was heard making that ‘horrendous’ remark to her courtside team.
Henman, speaking on Sky, did not mince his words in assessing Boulter’s performance.
Asked why she had lost the match, he replied: ‘It came down to errors. It’s not a good performance in the second round of a Grand Slam. If she sits down and watches the match with her team it would not be a good watch but she would learn a lot.
‘She is such a good ball-striker that if she keeps the ball in play, she wins that match pretty routinely.’
British No 1 Katie Boulter (above) crashed out of the US Open after admitting she felt ‘horrendous’ during her clash with Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, which she lost 7-5, 7-5
Tim Henman (above) insisted that Boulter would learn a lot from watching the defeat back
‘I have to win these matches,’ agreed Boulter. ‘I’ve had time to think about it and I feel I played not wanting to lose rather than trying to win. I allowed her to play her game very well and in the tough moments, I was a bit passive.
‘You have to stamp your authority and tell yourself: “You’re the aggressor. You’re the one that’s going after it” – that’s how I got that number (her seeding) by my name.’
Somewhat of a difference of opinion, then, between Henman’s assertion that she needed to keep the ball in court and Boulter’s that she was playing too safe. The player’s view is nearer the truth: Boulter is a far better attacker than defender and if she is to reach the heights of the game it will be with pedal-to-the-metal aggression.
Bouzas Maneiro was initially rocked back by Boulter’s power but the Spaniard was allowed to settle into a rhythm of dragging her opponent side to side.
Boulter had a decent look at a forehand on set point but put it long and Bouzas Maneiro took advantage.
After a scratchy first-round win on Tuesday, Boulter admitted that going straight on to the Paris clay for the Olympics after Wimbledon was far from ideal preparation for the American swing, but she insisted on Thursday she has no regrets.
The 28-year-old athlete failed to maintain a level on consistency and lost on straight sets
World No 74 Bouzas Maneiro pulled off a superb upset after settling into an impressive rhythm
‘I do think it had an effect,’ she said, of playing the Olympics. ‘I would be lying to myself if I said it hadn’t but I knew those risks and I wanted to play the Olympics regardless. I hold representing my country up here. I wouldn’t change it for the world.’
Boulter’s defeat means no British woman has made the third round of the singles here in New York, and Jack Draper and Dan Evans were last night trying to make sure the same could not be said for the men.
Meanwhile, Jasmine Paolini’s victory over Karolina Pliskova on Thursday took the donut for the strangest match of the US Open so far, lasting just three points. Six minutes in, at 15-15, Pliskova turned her left ankle and, after receiving medical treatment, decided she could not continue.
So, two days after Dan Evans and Karen Khachanov played out the longest match in US Open history, at five hours and 35 minutes, surely we now had the shortest? No, in fact: the shortest match in tennis history was here at the US Open in 1972. On the first point of his match against Georges Goven, Chico Hagey ran for a wide ball, collided with the fence and broke his leg. Dangerous game, tennis.
No British woman has progressed beyond the second round in New York, with former US Open champion Emma Raducanu also out early following her disappointing first round defeat
Looking ahead to today’s play, the locals are feverish with excitement for an all-American showdown between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.
The matchup between two of the most charismatic players on tour is a repeat of last year’s quarter final – and just as was the case in 2023, the dubious reward is a likely date with Novak Djokovic.
‘These are the type of matches that I love, that I live for,’ said Shelton, who won that meeting last year. ‘People love Frances here. Probably more than me. He’s electric here.
‘We’re good friends. It will be a war just like the last two times we’ve played.’
