An out-of-sorts Katie Boulter suffered a disappointing US Open exit to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro despite mounting a brief fightback in the second set.
Boulter was outplayed throughout her 7-5 7-5 defeat to the world No 74 to end British interest in the women’s draw following Harriet Dart’s exit to Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk on Wednesday.
She was heard saying to her team on courtside that “everything was horrendous” as her best game deserted her.
Bouzas Maneiro, 21, has already upset Paula Badosa in Madrid and knocked out Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon this year, and now she can add Boulter to her list despite a spirited rally from the British No 1 in the second set.
The match hinged on the first set and Boulter looked in a good position when she broke to go 4-2 up.
But from that point the Spaniard dictated the match, cleverly moving Boulter around the court to win five of the next six games and take the opener.
Boulter lost the opening set of her first-round victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich but there was no comeback this time, even though she briefly threatened it.
A double break for Bouzas Maneiro in the second set appeared to seal Boulter’s fate as she trailed 5-2, but she clawed them both back and held her own serve to level at 5-5.
However, normality resumed as Boulter handed her next service game back to Bouzas Maneiro with a bad miss at the net and a double fault.
Her opponent was able to serve it out at the second attempt to make the third round of a Grand Slam for just the second time.
The Breakdown
Sky Sports Tennis’ Tim Henman on Katie Boulter’s defeat:
“It came down to errors. You can overcomplicate this game but if you keep the ball on the island you will be very good.
“Sixty points in the first set between the players finished with a mistake. When Katie fought back from 5-2 down in the second set it was because she didn’t make mistakes.
“It was a disappointing performance, given Katie’s quality. It’s a match I think she should win.
“If she looks back at this it won’t be a great watch but I think she can learn a lot from it. She is such a good ball striker that if she keeps the ball in play, she wins that game pretty routinely.”
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What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in September?
- Jasmin Open, Tunisia – WTA 250 (9-15 September)
- Guadalajara Open, Mexico – WTA 500 (9-15 September)
- Korea Open – WTA 500 (16 -22 September – with Emma Raducanu in action)
- Thailand Open – WTA 250 (16 -22 September)
- Chengdu Open, China – ATP 250 (18-24 September)
- Hangzhou Open, China – ATP 250 (18-24 September)
- China Open – WTA 1000 (Sept 25 – Oct 6)
- Japan Open – ATP 500 (Sept 25 – Oct 1)
- China Open – ATP 500 (Sept 26 – Oct 2)
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