Katie Boulter lost in three sets to Veronika Kudermetova at the Australian Open (Image: Getty)
Katie Boulter’s hopes of a strong Australian Open run ended in disappointing fashion with a second-round loss to Veronika Kudermetova.
Seeded for the first time at Melbourne Park, Boulter looked to have a good chance of breaking new ground and reaching the second week of a Grand Slam.
But, having survived a nail-biter in the first round against Rebecca Marino, she could not repeat the feat against Kudermetova, falling to a 7-6 (3) 2-6 6-2 defeat.
The loss is particularly disappointing because Boulter had begun the season so well at the United Cup, where she came extremely close to upsetting .
Kudermetova has slipped to 75 in the rankings after a poor year but she is a former top-10 player and caught Boulter cold on a chilly Melbourne evening.
The British number one won only one of the first six games but then mounted a comeback, saving three set points at 5-2 in a run of four games in a row.
Midway through that sequence there was a long delay when Kudermetova called the trainer for apparent tightness in her chest or back.
Fiance Alex De Minaur, trying to stay incognito in a black hoodie and cap, cheered Boulter on but Kudermetova stopped the run of games against her to force a tie-break and was the better player in it.
Boulter needed a good start to the second set and she got it, moving 4-1 ahead, and she appeared to be the steadier of the two in this first-strike battle.
Boulter also seemed in the ascendancy at the start of the decider but she could not find a break of the Kudermetova serve and it was the Russian who struck in the sixth game before pulling away.