(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart had a tense exchange at the net following their Nottingham clash. On Friday, Boulter defeated Dart 6-3 7-5 in the Nottingham quarterfinal. At the net, Dart had some words for Boulter as Dart seemingly questioned some of Boulter’s actions during the match.
Boulter tried to calm down the situation, saying that it was “nothing personal.” “It’s nothing personal. Mate, I do it every single match,” Boulter told Dart.
Boulter on beating Dart
In the first set, Boulter was up by a double break and had a chance to serve out for the first set in the eighth game but failed to do so.
However, it didn’t impact Boulter, who still won the first set after breaking Dart in the ninth game – the game in which Dart was serving to stay in the opener. In the second set, Boulter had a 5-3 lead and then missed a match point in the ninth game and three more match points in the 10th game.
After not realizing match points in two consecutive games, Boulter kept her focus as she won the 11th and 12th games to still seal a two-set win. “It was a battle out there. You could see how much it meant to me to get through that match.
It’s awful playing a friend but I tried to play the ball and not the player. Today it was my day,” Boulter said. Meanwhile, this week has been a special one for Boulter as she replaced Emma Raducanu as the top-ranked British female player.
“Been mulling over whether I was going to post this today. It’s not my highest ranking nor my best career moment however someone reminded me today that this little girl would be proud if I told her she would be British number 1 one day.
Whether it be for one minute one day or one year it’s not my biggest goal but shows I’m heading in the right direction. Now I’ve got work to do as my main goals are pending,” Boulter said in a message posted on her Twitter earlier this week.