British hopeful Katie Boulter has been knocked out of the third round of Wimbledon after losing 6-1, 6-1 to Harmony Tan.
Boulter, in what was the biggest match of her career, had no answers for Tan of France, who continued her stunning form in her debut Wimbledon having already dispatched the great Serena Williams on her way to the fourth round.
Tan will go on to play either Coco Gauff or Amanda Anisimova in the next round. For the 25-year-old Brit, ranked number 118, she was hoping to join the likes of Heather Watson and Cameron Norrie in securing her first major last-16 appearance.
Earlier in the week she had said she would be taking inspiration from Leicester City's Premier League title win as well as Emma Raducanu's fairytale US Open win.
However, the third round was as good as it got this year for Boulter with that fairytale run failing to materialise. She had also fought back tears on Thursday after revealing her Gran had died two days before her incredible Centre Court comeback over Karolina Pliskova. Nevertheless she can take heart from her performances at SW19 and will be hoping to keep improving on her uptick in form.
For Tan, her debut Wimbledon continues to reach new heights as she couldn't stop smiling throughout. Following her swift victory over Boulter she was asked if she could believe how well she was playing.
"I can't believe it yet," she said during her on-court interview. "I think if I sleep a bit tonight, then tomorrow I will believe. It’s amazing. I think I like grass. I’m really happy.
"It was really emotional in the first round against Serena. After, it was just about playing match per match. Today [I played] really good tennis. I don’t know why. It depends on the day.”
Aged 24 the world number 115 made just five unforced errors as she stormed into the last-16 at SW19. Her victory also meant she had won three successive Tour-level matches for the first time.
With her increasing confidence and playing style she could well be one to watch in future rounds.
