Yuan Yue of China prepares to serve during the women's singles first round match between Katie Boulter of Britain and Yuan Yue of China at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
MELBOURNE, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- World No. 61 Yuan Yue of China was knocked out of the Australian Open on Tuesday night after losing 7-5, 7-6 to England's Katie Boulter in the first round.
Yuan faltered at crucial moments and fell to defeat in one hour and 55 minutes.
Boulter, who is ranked seven places higher, hit 15 more winners than Yuan and had just five more unforced errors.
At the net, Boulter won 80 percent of her points, and won 39 percent of points when receiving compared to 26 percent for Yuan.
Deadlocked at 5-5 in the opening set, Boulter pounced and broke serve, giving her the opportunity to serve for the first set, which she capitalized on with a forehand winner.
Yuan had a chance to bounce back by breaking Boulter's serve in the first game of the second set but missed her chance, and missed another opportunity when leading 3-2.
After surviving those chances, Boulter had her first match point on her own serve at 5-4 but was denied by Yuan, who forced a tiebreak.
However, Yuan was unable to deny Boulter in the tiebreak, with the Englander racing into a 5-0 lead before closing out the match to reach the second round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2019.
Boulter will now face either 12th seed Zheng Qinwen of China or America's Ashlyn Krueger in the second round. ■
Yuan Yue of China hits a return during the women's singles first round match between Katie Boulter of Britain and Yuan Yue of China at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
Yuan Yue of China hits a return during the women's singles first round match between Katie Boulter of Britain and Yuan Yue of China at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
Yuan Yue of China reacts during the women's singles first round match between Katie Boulter of Britain and Yuan Yue of China at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
Katie Boulter of Britain serves during the women's singles first round match between Katie Boulter of Britain and Yuan Yue of China at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
Katie Boulter of Britain hits a return during the women's singles first round match between Katie Boulter of Britain and Yuan Yue of China at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
Katie Boulter of Britain reacts during the women's singles first round match between Katie Boulter of Britain and Yuan Yue of China at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
