Katie Boulter v Aliaksandra Sasnovich LIVE: US Open tennis scores as British No.1 secures comeback win
The US Open first round continues with Dan Evans, Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper also in action at Flushing Meadows
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Your support makes all the difference.Katie Boulter got her US Open campaign off to a successful start as she faced Belarussian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round at Flushing Meadows in New York. The British No.1 took to court against the qualifier and never settled in the opening set.
After taking a 2-0 lead, Boulter slipped behind and lost the opener to a thriving Sasnovich who looked dangerous. However, Boulter recovered to take the next two sets without much trouble, holding serve in each game and securing enough breaks to win the match 5-7 6-2 6-1.
She now advances into the second round and will be hoping for a long run at the tournament this time around. Boulter has had a good and consistent this year so far, winning two WTA Tour titles but has underperformed in the majors. In 2024, she is is yet to progress futher than the second round at a Grand Slam but will be confident after her win on Tuesday.
Relive the action from Boulter’s opening US Open match below:
Katie Boulter 3-2 Aliaksandra Sasnovich*
That’s good.
Sasnovich stays in the rally but she’s worked side-to-side by Boulter. The Brit then whips a low backhand across court and puts it out of reach of her opponent.
Next up Boulter finds the baseline with a forehand return and forces Sasnovich into the net, she adds a third point too and is flying from her own serve. 40-0.
She holds!
*Katie Boulter 2-2 Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Aliaksandra Sasnovich has a unique serve. She sets herself with the racket above her head and has a short jab at the ball as it drops back down.
She takes the first two points in this fourth game and forces an error from an attempted backhad return. Boulter hits it too long and Sasnovich moves 40-0 up.
Boulter’s little dip ends with a great shot, a forehand to the back corner, and she stops the run of Sasnovich taking the points. It doesn’t last long though as Boulter nails another forehand too long and Sasnovich holds serve.
All square.
Katie Boulter 2-1 Aliaksandra Sasnovich*
Break! Sasnovich breaks straight back to keep this match on serving terms. She had two attempts at clinching then break and took the second one.
Boulter needs to rethink her serve. Sasnovich looks comfortable on it.
*Katie Boulter 2-0 Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Oh nice! Sasnovich slices a return of serve just over the net but Boulter sprints up the court and manages to flick back a cross-court return. Her opponent scrambles across but can only lift the ball out of play.
Great speed and skill from Boulter.
Sasnovich is growing into this match though. She wins back-to-back points, one with a nice forehand winner, but Boulter’s response is a pinging first serve to bring the game level at 30-30.
Lovely! Sasnovich unleashes on a return of serve and fizzes a forehand across the court and into the far corner. It’s not a break point for the Belarussian but Boulter finds a tight angle from the next serve and takes the game to deuce.
*Katie Boulter 2-0 Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Sasnovich has reached the third round of the US Open on a couple of occasions so is used to this court and surroundings. There’s a steely focus to her as she gets her first service game underway.
Boulter takes the first point then smokes a powerful backhand down the line for a winner to move 0-30 ahead. That was a superb shot.
And again! This time it’s a strong forehand after a defence stroke from Sasnovich bounces high into the air. Boulter drills it back and sets up three break points.
Sasnovich saves the first one but then clinches the early break!
Katie Boulter 1-0 Aliaksandra Sasnovich*
Here we go then. Day 2 of the US Open is about to start and Katie Boulter has the first serve against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
The first rally develops easily enought and the Brit comes forward to the net, Sasnovich nails a passing backhand but sends it too long and the first point goes to Boulter.
Boulter wins the next couple of points too but a powerful forehand from Sasnovich beats her and the Belarussian has her first point on the board. 40-15.
Boulter then holds serve. She’s up-and-running against the qualifier.
Boulter on returning to New York for US Open
Katie Boulter spoke to Sky Sports about returning to New York for the US Open and how it feels to play in this tournament. She said: “There’s so much going on the whole time so you kind of can’t rest.
“So you get excited yourself and it brings that adrenaline. Yeah, I love coming to New York. It’s kind of hard not to. We play to be in atmosphere, right? So this is one of the best for that.
“I think you’re always going to be a little more anxious because it’s a slam. You know it means so much more. Naturally, you do feel a little bit of anxiety, but you turn that straight into excitement and happiness to get out there.”
Katie Boulter v Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Katie Boulter is out on Court 17 this afternoon for her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The sun is out in New York and the conditions are close to perfect to get out there on court.
Boulter will hope to start strongly to ease herself into the tournament. This match will kick off shortly and we’ll have all the action from New York.
‘I’m returning to US Open with different outlook this year’ says Raducanu
Emma Raducanu says she is returning to the US Open with a different outlook this year.
The 21-year-old stunned the world when she won at Flushing Meadows three years ago in what was just her fourth senior-level tournament.
She has not won a match in New York since as she suffered a first-round exit in 2022 and was injured last season.
“I feel a lot better. I feel very proud when I come here,” she said, “Walking past my photo every day. Walking past my name on the trophy every day. I think that is such an epic achievement and these two weeks, I completed it.
“For me, coming back here now, I come back with such a different outlook. Just joy and pride and it inspires me to want to do more. I would say I was a lot more nervous and I think I felt pressure more (in 2022). It is natural. I still didn’t come to terms with it.
“I think overall now, I am in a much more solid and consistent state than I was when I came back last time.”
Naomi Osaka grateful as ballet coach Simone Elliott helps avoid ‘breakdowns’
Naomi Osaka says a ballet coach has helped her control her emotions on court.
The 26-year-old is back at the US Open, where she is a two-time winner, after missing last year’s tournament following the birth of her first child.
Osaka has linked up with ballet coach Simone Elliott, who also works as her mental coach, and says it is having a positive effect.
“I’m really grateful for her,” she said. “We do have journaling sessions. She’s actually the one that told me to get my little journal book that I read on court sometimes.
“It is kind of more casual, but I think it’s just because she knows that’s the type of person I am.
“I remember in Cincinnati the day before my qualifying match, I was having a really hard time and an hour before the match I asked if I could talk to her.
“We talked it through. Then obviously I was able to win the match, and I felt pretty good after that.
“So you know me, I have had these moments where I have kind of had a breakdown on court. I feel like if I didn’t talk to her, that possibly could have happened again in that moment.”
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