Tuesday saw the biggest expulsion of Britons from New York since the Declaration of Independence as Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Fran Jones and Billy Harris were dumped out of the US Open.
Jacob Fearnley was last night trying to prevent a day-three whitewash and join Emma Raducanu, Jack Draper and Cam Norrie in the second round.
All four British players were underdogs but the best chance looked to lay with Kartal. And when the 23-year-old won the second set against Brazilian No18 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia it felt like she was the favourite.
But the spectral fingers of cramp began to grip her body and she was a shadow of her sprightly self as she went down 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.
Haddad Maia herself began to cramp in her hamstring at 4-0 in the decider, lending an air of farce to the closing stages – it was like the blind beating the blind.
‘It stings’, said world No51 Kartal. ‘I’ve never lost a match from cramp before, I feel like physicality is one of my best assets. When just everything is just locking out and you’re having to peel your thumb off the racket just to try and let go, you feel pretty helpless on the court.’
No51 seed Sonay Kartal was one of four Brits to be dumped out of the US Open on Tuesday
Katie Boulter was another – she lost 6-4, 6-4 to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk
Meanwhile Billy Harris was beaten by Felix Auger-Aliassme of Canada
Where exactly was the cramping? ‘Where wasn’t cramping,’ replied Kartal. ‘Calves, quads, hamstrings and fingers.
‘I tried some salt and other things that don’t taste very nice but the cramps were just too far gone.’
For Kartal, the next step is to make sure it never happens again. ‘We’ll analyse everything I ate and drank over the last few days and see if we can make some changes.’
When the cramping spread across the net, Kartal had a sliver of a chance but she was in no condition to take advantage. ‘You’re in so much pain you just go into a little dark place and try to get through it. I wasn’t thinking about her. I was just thinking: “I’m gonna finish the match. I’m not gonna quit”.’
Haddad Maia was dragged across the finish line by her raucous green-and-gold cheerleaders in the crowd, and Kartal believed the Brazilian fans’ behaviour crossed the line at times.
‘Tennis etiquette, if I double fault you’re not (supposed to) start cheering and chanting her name,’ said Kartal. ‘If I miss a smash because the sun’s blinding me, they’re screaming.’
Earlier in the day, British No2 Katie Boulter went down 6-4, 6-4 to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. Boulter hit eight double faults and was broken four times, and afterwards said she was considering following the lead of Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff by bringing in a specialist coach to remodel her serve.
‘I need to address the serving,’ she said. ‘We’ve been trying so many different things but nothing is quite working yet.
Emma Raducanu is now the only female Brit still in the tournament
Jack Draper and Cam Norrie are through to the second round too
‘There are no egos in my team, they’d be open to having someone come in and help with the serve. I saw Coco brought someone else in and I’d be tempted to do the same.’
Next up was Fran Jones, who made a decent fist of the second set but was outclassed 6-0, 7-5 by 23-year-old German Eva Lys, who looks a highly promising, athletic talent.
Then big Billy Harris had three second set points before going down 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 to Canadian No25 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Raducanu and Norrie are back in action today; Draper tomorrow.
