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Wimbledon 2023: Katie Boulter through, Arthur Fery loses to Daniil Medvedev, Jodie Burrage out

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Published in Tennis
Wednesday, 05 July 2023 10:04

British number one Katie Boulter turned a Wimbledon first-round match in her favour following an interruption caused by a protestor throwing confetti.

Boulter was trailing 4-2 to Australia's Daria Saville in a first-set tie-break when the man came on to Court 18.

When the pair returned, 26-year-old Boulter fought back in the breaker and went on to win 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.

But there were defeats for fellow Britons Jodie Burrage and Arthur Fery on another day also disrupted by rain.

Burrage, 24, looked overcome by nerves as her Centre Court debut ended in only an hour, with 11th seed Daria Kasatkina cruising to a 6-0 6-2 win in the second round.

On Court One, 20-year-old Fery lost 7-5 6-4 6-3 on his SW19 debut after landing a plum first-round match against third seed Daniil Medvedev.

British men's number six Jan Choinski's second-round match was called off after the showers on Wednesday.

The wet weather played more havoc with the schedule on a day when 87 matches were planned, with downpours forcing most of Tuesday's play to be postponed.

Day three of the Championships also got off to a dismal start and play on the outer courts started almost two hours later than planned at 12:45 BST.

There were also more unplanned stoppages when environmental protesters ran on to Court 18, throwing confetti and a jigsaw on to the surface during the match between Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov and Japan's Sho Shimabukuro, before another similar incident occurred in Boulter's match.

Burrage seems overawed on Centre Court debut

Burrage was the first Briton to fall on Wednesday after appearing to be overawed by the occasion of playing on Centre Court.

The British number two won just seven points in a 19-minute opening set and, after breaking early in the second set, saw her momentum ruined by a 20-minute rain delay.

When the pair returned, Kasatkina won five successive games to reach the last 32.

Making her debut on the iconic Centre Court was a richly deserved reward for Burrage, who has enjoyed the best year of her career.

Burrage thought about quitting the sport in 2020 after a catalogue of injuries, resuming her career after deciding to persevere and reaching new heights this year.

A run to the Nottingham Open final in June - the first WTA title match of her career and where she lost to fellow Briton Katie Boulter - lifted her to a career high of 106th in the world.

The success on the British grass courts this summer continued with her maiden win in the Wimbledon main draw, a victory which left her fighting back the tears afterwards.

Facing Russian world number 10 Kasatkina, who was runner-up in Eastbourne last week, was always going to be a big step up in class for Burrage.

Burrage was given a rousing reception while she walked off court and can console herself with the knowledge she could break into the world's top 100 for the first time after the tournament.

Local lad Fery wins friends in gallant defeat

Fery might be an unfamiliar name for many outside British tennis circles, but the 20-year-old Londoner won many new admirers in a spirited performance against Russia's Medvedev.

Born to French parents but growing up in Wimbledon, Fery is ranked 391st in the world and has racked up a decent number of victories at ITF Futures events over the past year.

He was rewarded with a wildcard for his home Grand Slam event and - on his major debut - showed his potential in what could have been a daunting meeting with 2021 US Open champion Medvedev.

Fery, who has been juggling his burgeoning tennis career with studying at Stanford University in the United States, recovered breaks in the opening two sets before Medvedev took the Briton's serve again at critical stages in both.

Medvedev held serve more comfortably in the third set, using his larger frame - the 6ft 6in Russian towering over the 5ft 8in Fery - to cover the court well and break his opponent's serve twice more.

The world number three was making his first appearance back at the All England Club since Russian players were banned last year in response to the nation's invasion of Ukraine.

"I was pretty nervous. I didn't know which reception I would get and it was unbelievable," Medvedev, who has never gone beyond the Wimbledon fourth round, said.

"I'm not loved everywhere for who I am, sometimes I get crazy on the court.

"It was an amazing feeling to be back here. I'm going to be loving my time here. Hopefully, I can prolong it as long as possible."

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