Great Britain’s Katie Boulter avoided an early slip-up in the first round of the French Open as she ground out a gruelling win over American wildcard Akasha Urhobo.
Playing on clay has never come easy for Boulter, who only won her first WTA Tour-level match on the surface last year – at the age of 28.
But she booked her place in the second round at Roland Garros for just the second time with a scrappy 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over 19-year-old Urhobo, who was making her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
Earlier on Monday, Boulter’s Australian fiance Alex de Minaur ended Toby Samuel’s breakthrough run after the Briton came through three rounds of qualifying in Paris.
Ranked 114 places higher than Urhobo, Boulter was the favourite on paper – but her limited exposure to clay has sometimes meant she has struggled against lower-ranked opposition on the surface.
However, Boulter told BBC Sport earlier this month that she was embracing the challenge of playing on the red dirt more each year.
“There have been times in the past where I feel like I have had to try to convince myself that I like the clay, whereas at the moment I genuinely believe that I can play great on it,” she said.
More to follow.