Katie Boulter reflected on a “lesson learned” after pushing past a moment that “got under my skin” to advance into the round of 16 at the Hong Kong Open.
Serving for the match while holding a 5-2 advantage in the second set, the top-ranked British player suffered a service break against Viktorija Golubic.
In the middle of that game, Boulter voiced her frustration to the chair umpire when a point failed to be replayed despite a distracting external sound.
Visibly rattled, Boulter dropped her subsequent service game as well, but the world number 49 eventually prevailed in a tie-break to secure a 6-2 7-6 (7-2) win.
“It turned out to be quite interesting,” stated Boulter, who finished as runner-up at the 2024 edition of the Hong Kong Open.
“My play was really strong up to that point. I believe I ought to have wrapped the match up sooner, but a few incidents occurred.
“A rather peculiar call upset me somewhat, and while I typically manage to brush those things aside easily, exhaustion was creeping in.
“Given it is late in the season, it appeared to affect me more, but it was a valuable lesson learned, and I ultimately got the job done.”
Having previously swept aside the 89th-ranked Golubic during her run to the Japan Open semi-finals last month, Boulter is set to face Claire Liu of the United States in the upcoming round.
