- Katie Boulter slipped to a disappointing 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 defeat by Solana Sierra
- Fellow Brit Sonay Kartal hammered Viktoriya Tomova to reach the third round
As the unlikely figure of Sonay Kartal continued her unfussy progress here at Wimbledon, Katie Boulter was sent to room 101 by the world No101.
We have to start with Boulter, and to go back to 2022. Remember Harmony Tan? Boulter had reached the third round of Wimbledon and was faced with the enticing prospect of beating the world No115 for a place in the second week – and she collapsed, losing 6-1, 6-1.
Three years later and the burnished doors of the All England Club stood ajar once again, and once again Boulter blew it. Once again she lost not by yards but a furlong, collapsing from a set up to go down 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 to 21-year-old Solana Sierra. Speaking afterwards, face wan with recent tears, Boulter said she is beginning to accept it might never happen for her here at Wimbledon. After watching this second-round performance, one has to fear she is right.
The British No2 found herself in a wide-open section of the draw and faced with Argentine lucky loser Sierra, who had played a single grass court match in her life before this Championships. Sierra ought to have posed no problem to a lawnsmith of Boulter’s class but the 28-year-old hit eight winners and 36 unforced errors, including 14 double faults. It was a performance to be viewed through one’s hands, or at least clutching one of the All England club’s £10 Pimms.
‘It’s a really tough pill to swallow,’ began Boulter, taking refuge in cliche. ‘It always is here.
‘Sometimes I just have to accept that my moment might not come. Ultimately that’s all I can do and keep putting myself out there and keep improving every single year.
Katie Boulter collapsed from a set up to go down 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 to 21-year-old Solana Sierra
Argentina’s Sierra had played a single grass court match in her life before this Championships
The British No2 found herself in a wide-open section of the draw and faced with Solana Sierra
‘You can look at a piece of paper and be like, Oh, this is a terrible loss. But I don’t necessarily feel like I completely lost the match. Last year (another horror defeat, to compatriot Harriet Dart) I probably sat here and said I lost the match. This year I’m not going to say that. I think she played a good match.’
That felt like delusion. Sierra played above her ranking, sure, but Boulter’s serve went haywire in the wind and she lost all control on her forehand.
So, as Boulter says, things may never happen for her here at SW19. Which feels wrong because she is so quintessentially Wimbledon, like an AI vision of a British tennis player.
Meanwhile there is Kartal, so curiously and delightfully un-Wimbledon. In her retro Adidas shorts and top, the 23-year-old hammered Bulgarian journeywoman Viktoriya Tomova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round here for a second year in a row.
She would have expected to face Russian No12 seed Diana Shnaider but will instead face her conqueror, French world No103 Diane Parry, for a place in the second week of a major for the first time.
What a story Kartal is, and what a character. The daughter of a Turkish kebab shop owner in Brighton, she still lives at home and still works with the same coaches who taught her the basics at the Pavilion club in Hove, aged six.
She would often travel to tournaments on her own, her family being unable to pay for a travelling coach, and until the age of 19 the LTA took little interest.
Sonay Kartal hammered Bulgarian star Viktoriya Tomova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round
The 30-year-old had reached the second round after Ons Jabeur retired after feeling unwell
They are certainly interested now: I counted five tracksuits in the stands, including head honcho Scott Lloyd himself.
‘When I was younger I didn’t deserve the funding,’ said the world No51 matter-of-factly. ‘I was too inconsistent. My game wasn’t there.’ It is certainly here now.
