Katie Boulter spotted in telling act amid Alex de Minaur's career-first at French Open
The Aussie tennis player has gone further than ever before at the clay-court grand slam.
Katie Boulter has put the heartbreak of her early French Open exit aside to turn cheerleader for boyfriend Alex de Minaur. Boulter was one of six British players to crash out in the first round at Roland Garros, with none making the second round for just the fourth time this century.
Not even the support of her Aussie boyfriend could help Boulter beat Paula Badosa on Tuesday, with de Minaur spotted watching from the stands just hours after his own first-round match. But Boulter isn't wallowing in her sadness, putting her personal disappointment aside to support de Minaur.
The British player could have been forgiven for wanting to make an early exit from Paris after her loss, but she's sticking around to try and help de Minaur go as far as possible. And the support of his girlfriend clearly helped on Thursday after de Minaur advanced to the third round for the first time in his career.
With Boulter watching from the stands, de Minaur breezed past Jaume Munar 7-5 6-1 6-4 as he marched into the third round without dropping a set. The Aussie star had earlier said about his relationship: “Safe to say that we don’t take it too hard if either of us don’t watch each other play because we obviously know that we’re getting ready, we’ve got to recover, got to do stuff to focus on yourself."
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With Boulter now eliminated from the singles competition, she's doing the selfless thing for her boyfriend. And she'll be hoping her stay in Paris is extended even further if de Minaur can make a deep run at the clay-court grand slam.
"It feels great," de Minaur said about finally getting past the second round. "It's something that I've always thought that I was going to be able to achieve in my career. Just good to finally be able to be in the third round and keep on going, because ultimately, my goal is not to make the third round, it's to go for bigger and better things. And I'm just keeping myself alive and ready for the next round."
Thanasi Kokkinakis survives in another five-set epic
Australia has two players in the third round, with Thanasi Kokkinakis advancing in another five-set battle. Kokkinakis came from two-sets down to beat Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri 1-6 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 - his second five-set match of the tournament.
After also fighting back from two-sets-to-one down to beat compatriot Alexei Popyrin in the first round on Tuesday, the South Australian sealed his triumph at 11.35pm on Thursday in front of boisterous fans on Court 10. "I'm running on fumes at the moment, it's tough," said Kokkinakis.
"I really need to do it easier but guys are good and I struggle with my focus a lot of the time. Finding a win ugly is better than not winning at all, but it definitely catches up with you in these grand slam matches."
The win marked the third time Kokkinakis has made the third round at Roland Garros, and his fourth-straight victory in a five set-match. His last loss in a five-setter was the extraordinary 4.05am finish to Andy Murray at the Australian Open in 2023.
"It's good," Kokkinakis said about having two Aussies in the third round. "Alex is leading the way for us as always and I'm trying to follow in his footsteps and play as well as I can."
with AAP
