Katie Boulter advanced to the third round of the Miami Open with her first career victory at the WTA 1000 event after her opponent, Brenda Fruhvirtova, was forced to withdraw from the second round match due to illness, when Boulter was ahead 7-6 (5). , 1-0.
Despite the retirement, life was far from easy for the British No. 1, who trailed Fruhvirtova 5-3 in the opening set before the Czech youngster succumbed to illness in damp conditions. Boulter will face 11th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia or Diane Parry in the next round.
“It’s a difficult situation. I had the feeling that it was a competition that I would participate in more and more often,” said Boulter. “She’s played a match on these courts, so I always found it difficult to come in and play. It’s not a situation I’ve been in before, it’s something completely new to me. If I want to win such a match, then of course I accept that, but I don’t want to win like that. She is a young talent and she will do very well in the future.”
After the best week of her career to date, winning her first WTA 500 title in San Diego at the end of February and entering the top 30 for the first time, Boulter suffered a quick turnaround two weeks ago in California and lost she beat Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the first round in Indian Wells. With almost two weeks to train between tournaments, she entered the Miami Open courts for the first time at a WTA 1000 event, at No. 24, with her new status also leading to her first-ever bye at a WTA event.
But the target on Boulter’s back is also growing. Instead of an underdog just trying to hold her own at the highest level, she is now a player to beat, especially for a youngster like Fruhvirtova, who at 16, along with Mirra, is one of only two players under has been in the top 140 for 18 years. Andreeva. Over the past year, Fruhvirtova had compiled a record of 49-8. Her success focused on her intelligence on the court, movement and a poor two-handed backhand.
Fruhvirtova immediately made her intentions clear, breaking Boulter’s serve in the opening game of the match and leading by a break for most of the set. While the Czech hit the ball cleanly early, returned well and pounced on numerous backhands, Boulter struggled as her mistakes piled up. Fruhvirtova advanced 5-3 in the first set, but just before serving for the set at 5-4, she suddenly began to feel unwell.
When changing goals, the Czech appealed to the doctor and physio, but she continued to struggle. While Boulter won three games in a row from 3-5, Fruhvirtova’s team repeatedly told her to quit. To her credit, Fruhvirtova continued to fight hard, forcing a tiebreak and still leaving Boulter feeling uncomfortable. Despite struggling to find her range, Boulter was patient in the decisive moments of the tie-break and narrowly closed out the set. Her task became an increasingly difficult struggle and the young Czech chose to retire.
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Afterwards, Boulter explained how playing against a physically compromised opponent can be extremely difficult: “Halfway through the match I see her coaches telling her to pull, but she doesn’t,” Boulter said. “There’s a lot going on. One minute she’s struggling to get the ball in the court, and the next minute she’s taking 10 shots from left to right. It’s a tough mental game and for me it was a challenge today .I wasn’t the nicest to myself, but you live and learn.”