Russian Daria Kasatkina shocked Britain’s Katie Boulter in the first round of the Australian One on Monday, racing to a 6-1. 6-4 victory in 70 minutes.
Kasatkina has never advanced further than Round 3 in the tournament but was way too for Boulter. She will face the winner of the clash between Aryna Sabalenka and Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova in the next round.
Boulter made 18 unforced errors in the first set, improved in the second and saved four match points as she recovered from 5-2 to 5-4 but Kasatkina was too good on the day.
“I’m pretty disappointed with today,” Boulter said.
“I felt like I never really got going, I felt quite uncomfortable out on the court. I put a lot of pressure on myself when really there was absolutely no need to.
“The conditions were slightly different today, it felt heavier, the ball was bouncing higher.
“She has a different kind of swing to a lot of girls and I really struggled to just get some rhythm and get into the match and compete. I’m pretty upset about it.”
No.27 seed Ons Jabeur, who made the quarterfinals last year, beat Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in a tough three-setter.
