British number one Katie Boulter came from a set down to secure a place in the third round of the US Open for the first time.
The 27-year-old matched her run at Wimbledon this summer after a gutsy 5-7 6-1 6-4 victory over China’s in-form Wang Yafan.
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Wang was on an 11-match winning streak, including beating seventh seed Caroline Garcia in the first round, but she was outlasted by Boulter in the New York heat.
In a tight first set, Boulter retrieved an early break, was given a warning for angrily swatting the ball away and had three set points on the Wang serve.
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But she was unable to convert any of them and Wang promptly broke to wrap up the set.
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However Boulter, from Leicester, cleared her head impressively and dominated the second set to level the match.
Having broken again for 5-4 in the decider she suffered a horrible wobble, throwing in two double faults in the first three points.
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But once again Boulter recovered her composure and wrapped up a fine win when Wang hit the net.
She said: “I am super happy with today – very, very proud of myself. I had to dig really deep.
“I had a few set points in the first set which I wasn’t able to convert. She played some really good tennis and I had to really battle and go for it at the same time.
“Credit to her. She is a great player and doesn’t make it easy. I managed to get over the line so I am extremely happy.”
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Boulter will face 21-year-old American Peyton Stearns, the world number 59, in what looks a very favourable draw, for a place in the last 16.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
