Katie Boulter moved into the third round of the Miami Open with her first career win at the WTA 1000 event after her opponent, Brenda Fruhvirtova, was forced to retire from their second-round match due to illness as Boulter led 7-6 (5), 1-0.
Despite the retirement, life was far from easy for the British No 1, who trailed Fruhvirtova 5-3 in the opening set before the Czech youngster succumbed to illness in humid conditions. Boulter will face either Beatriz Haddad Maia, the 11th seed, or Diane Parry in the next round.
“It’s a tough situation. I felt like it was a match that I was going to get into more and more,” said Boulter. “She’s played a match on these courts, so I was always going to find it difficult to come in and play. It’s not a situation I’ve been in before, it’s something quite new for me. Obviously, to win a match like that, I’ll take it, but I don’t want to win like that. She’s a young talent and she’s going to do very, very well in the future.”
After the best week of her career so far, winning her first WTA 500 title in San Diego at the end of February and rising into the top 30 for the first time, Boulter faced a quick turnaround two weeks ago in California, and she lost to Camila Giorgi of Italy in the first round at Indian Wells. With nearly two weeks to train between tournaments, she stepped on to the Miami Open courts seeded at a WTA 1000 event for the first time, at No 24, with her new status also leading to her first ever bye at a WTA event.
But the target on Boulter’s back is also growing. Instead of an underdog just trying to hold her own at the highest level, she is now a player to beat, particularly for a youngster like Fruhvirtova, who at 16 years old is one of only two players under 18 inside the top 140 along with Mirra Andreeva. Over the past year, Fruhvirtova had compiled a 49-8 record, her success centred on her intelligence on court, movement and a wicked two-handed backhand.
Fruhvirtova made her intentions clear immediately, breaking Boulter’s serve in the opening game of the match and leading by a break for most of the set. While the Czech struck the ball cleanly early on, returned well and pounced on countless backhands, Boulter struggled as her errors piled up. Fruhvirtova moved up 5-3 in the first set but just before she served for the set at 5-4, she suddenly began to feel unwell.
At the change of ends, the Czech called on the doctor and physio, but she continued to struggle. As Boulter reeled off three games in succession from 3-5, Fruhvirtova’s team repeatedly told her to retire. To her credit, Fruhvirtova continued to fight hard, forcing a tie-break and continuing to make Boulter uncomfortable. Despite struggling to find her range, Boulter was patient in the decisive moments of the tie-break and she closed out the set narrowly. Her task an increasingly uphill battle, the young Czech opted to retire.
Afterwards, Boulter explained how playing against a physically compromised opponent can be extremely difficult: “Halfway through the match, I’m seeing her coaches telling her to pull, but she’s not,” said Boulter. “There’s a lot going on. One minute she’s struggling to put the ball in court, and then the next point she’s running 10 shots side-to-side. It’s a tough mental game and for me it was challenging today. I wasn’t the kindest to myself, but you live and learn.”
On Thursday evening, Dan Evans reached the second round in Miami with a hard-fought 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. Evans, who is unseeded and still trying to find his feet in 2024 after a season-ending calf tear last year, will face Chris Eubanks, the 31st seed, on Saturday.
