Katie Boulter’s victory over Rebecca Marino at the Australian Open has secured a slice of history for Great Britain at the Grand Slam tournament.
It marks the first time six British players have reached the second round at Melbourne Park across the men’s singles and women’s singles.
The other five players to reach the second round include Emma Raducanu, Harriet Dart, Jodie Burrage, Jack Draper and Jacob Fearnley.
Raducanu conjured up a 7-6 7-6 victory to eliminate Russian 26th-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to book her spot in the second round.
Lucky loser Dart battled past Jana Fett 7-5 2-6 7-6 while Burrage bagged her first Australian Open win by defeating Leolia Jeanjean 6-2 6-4.
In the men’s singles, British No.1 Draper required five sets to squeeze past Mariano Navone 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2 in a topsy-turvy showdown.
Meanwhile, rising Brit Fearnley stunned 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios 7-6 6-3 7-6 on his main draw debut amid the Aussie’s injury return.
Despite being British, Boulter enjoyed strong support from the Australian crowd during her 6-4 3-6 7-5 victory over Canadian world No.98 Marino.
That’s largely because Boulter is engaged to Australian male tennis star Alex de Minaur, who was seen sneaking in to watch her match after his own first-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the men’s singles.
-Asked whether she feels at home in Australia and whether the home fans have adopted her, Boulter said: ‘It’s funny you say that, this is the closest I’ve ever felt to home.
‘From the moment I landed here… I’ve felt the love, I can’t tell you how much it means to me.’
Quizzed about her future husband, Boulter added: ‘I’m guessing he won! I figured if he lost he might not be sat there. So happy to see him through.’
Boulter, seeded 22th at the Australian Open, next faces Russian world No.75 Veronika Kudermetova as the British No.1 aims to reach the third round.
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