Wimbledon: Katie Boulter suffers straight-set loss to Harmony Tan in third round
- Published
Watch the best shots from Harmony Tan's 'bewitching performance' against Katie Boulter
Wimbledon 2022 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. |
British wildcard Katie Boulter's Wimbledon run was ended in the third round by a swift loss to France's Harmony Tan.
The 25-year-old world number 118 was aiming to join compatriots Heather Watson and Cameron Norrie in securing her first major last-16 appearance.
But she lost 6-1 6-1 in 51 minutes to Tan, whose fine run also includes a win over American great Serena Williams.
Tan will play an American opponent in Coco Gauff or Amanda Anisimova next.
"I think I may have seen it coming a little bit," said Boulter, who recorded the biggest win of her career over former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the previous round.
"I started to reach my emotional and physical point where I was struggling a little bit this morning in the warm-up.
"This week has probably been the tipping point. I've played some great matches. It's also been very emotional. I think today was one step too far for me.
"But it's a step forward in the right direction. I've got nothing but positive vibes coming into this week and moving forward for the next few tournaments."
Boulter's hopes of a dream run ended
Katie Boulter was sidelined for six months with a stress fracture of the back in 2019 and was forced to miss the entire clay-court swing this year after suffering a leg injury in March
British number three Boulter said she was taking inspiration from Leicester City's 2015-16 Premier League title victory and Emma Raducanu's 2021 US Open win to fuel her Wimbledon run.
She fought back tears on Thursday as she revealed that her gran, Jill, died two days before her stunning comeback win over 2021 runner-up Pliskova on Centre Court.
But her hopes of a fairytale run deep into the tournament at SW19 came to an abrupt end on court two, as Tan extinguished the Briton's bid for a first Grand Slam fourth-round appearance.
Tan, the 24-year-old world number 115, made just five unforced errors as she romped into the last 16 on her Wimbledon debut.
She followed up her epic first-round victory over Williams by upsetting world number 45 Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets, and maintained her impressive form on Saturday to win three successive Tour-level matches for the first time.
An audacious between-the-legs shot demonstrated Tan's increasing confidence and kept her in a rally in which she had appeared on the back foot, before she overpowered Boulter to break for 4-1 in the second set to close in on victory.
Boulter, unable to get anywhere near the heights of her second-round display, conceded a difficult match with a double fault, which handed her near-faultless opponent her third break of the set.
Who is Harmony Tan?
Harmony Tan is coached by French 1998 Wimbledon women's singles runner-up Nathalie Tauziat
After another hugely impressive display, debutant Tan admitted she was still processing her opening win in the aftermath of her third victory at the All England Club.
"For me it was impossible to beat Serena in the first round. I don't believe it," she said.
She can be forgiven for feeling slightly stunned by her own progress.
The only previous occasion on which Tan won consecutive main-draw Tour matches was 15 months ago, at a WTA 250 event in Bogota.
This season she has reached the second round at events in Guadalajara, Strasbourg and Monterrey, having made the second round of a Grand Slam for just the second time at the Australian Open in January.
But she was unable to equal her 2021 achievement of winning a match at the French Open in May, leaving her with two wins in six Slam appearances.
The Parisian, who has Cambodian and Vietnamese parents, has already far exceeded those achievements in a whirlwind first six days at Wimbledon.
In an eventful first week, she has also faced backlash from proposed doubles partner Tamara Korpatsch after Tan withdrew with a thigh injury. "I don't like drama," was the Frenchwoman's response when asked about the fallout.
A winner of eight singles titles on the ITF circuit since her professional debut in 2012, Tan - whose hobbies include playing the piano and surfing - is maintaining perspective as her breakthrough tournament continues to unfold.
"I think I'm just happy to be on the second week. That's it," she said, smiling.
"When I was young, they told me that I cannot be a really good player with [my] game, so it was really tough for me. I didn't have some help, and financially it was really hard.
"But there is one person who believed in me. It was [my coach] Nathalie Tauziat when I was 18, and we worked on that game. I think it worked today."
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