Britain’s Katie Boulter did not get off to a great start, as she lost to top seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the last eight of the Merida Open.
Against the world number seven in Mexico, Boulter won the first set in 28 minutes without losing a game.
But the mistakes started piling up and Paolini won, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3.
After winning only three points on her serve in the opening set, Paolini started the second set strongly, holding serve for the first time and then taking a break to lead 3–1
Boulter entered the competition.
Boulter, who came into the competition on the back of a seven-match winning run, including claiming the Ostrava Open title, broke straight back to love but neither player could hold serve in the next three games.
It was Paolini who maintained courage and won the second set and levelled the match.
The 2024 Wimbledon and French Open finalist raced to a 2–0 lead in the deciding game, and, although Boulter fought back and held serve to lead 3–2, the Italian’s confidence grew as she won four consecutive games to book a place in the semi-finals.
“It was really tough – in the first set, Katie was hitting every ball and hitting a winner everywhere,” Paolini told Sky Sports.
I told myself to play deeper in the court and hit the ball harder because I needed to raise my level to try to win the match, and in the end, it worked.
“I was trying to stay calm and think about what to do. I guess when you’re nervous you can‘t find solutions.”
