Katie Boulter: British number 1 battles past China’s Wang Xiyu to reach quarter-finals in Hong Kong | Tennis News
Britain’s Katie Boulter had to fight hard against China’s Wang Xiyu to reach the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open.
Boulter needed two hours and 14 minutes to beat Wang 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, continuing her good form in Asia.
The 28-year-old from Leicestershire, who reached the semi-finals of the Japan Open last week, has enjoyed the best season of her career, winning two WTA Tour titles and reaching a peak of 27 in the world rankings.
After saving five break points in the third game, Boulter dropped serve two games later but recovered to level the score at 4-4 on a run of 12 straight points.
Wang, 23, had the first chance in the tiebreak but Boulter held firm and took her second set point. She bounced back strongly after losing a break advantage in the second set to secure a place in the last eight.
“That was a pretty good game,” Boulter said in her on-pitch interview.
“She is an incredible opponent who never lets up. My thanks to her, she just keeps hitting and is so talented. She made me work really hard today, which to be honest I’m not too happy about.”
“She certainly has a bright future ahead of her. I just had to stay there as long as possible and I’m proud of myself today.”
Boulter will now look to repeat last week’s run in Tokyo when she takes on one of the seventh seeds Varvara Gracheva or Tatiana Prozorova.
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