Katie Boulter's Clay-Court Campaign Begins with Early Defeat

Katie Boulter's bid for success on the clay courts got off to a disappointing start as she was knocked out in the first round of the Linz Open in Austria. Elena-Gabriela Ruse secured a hard-fought victory, winning in straight sets 7-6 (6-3) 7-6 (6-2) against the British number three. Boulter struggled to find her rhythm early on, losing her first two service games, but managed to level the score at 4-4 in the first set. However, Ruse, ranked 25 places below Boulter, took control of the opening tie-break. The Romanian player carried her momentum into the second set, although she was broken in her first service game. Boulter failed to capitalize on this opportunity, losing her serve immediately after and again when she led 3-2. As Boulter served to stay in the match at 6-5 down, she saved a match point at 30-40 and held on to force another tie-break. Unfortunately, after taking a 2-1 lead in the second-set tie-break, Boulter lost six consecutive points, ending her tournament prematurely. Ruse will now face either Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska or American seventh seed Ann Li in the next round. The match is available to stream contract-free with NOW, along with other tennis scores, results, and upcoming matches on the Sky Sports app.