Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
UK No 1s dumped by No 2s
BRITISH number ones Jack Draper and Katie Boulter crashed out of Wimbledon as understudies Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart stole the limelight with second-round victories.
Last month Norrie surrendered his status as Britain’s top-ranked men’s player to Draper but gave a timely reminder of his talents by beating his compatriot in straight sets.
Earlier, Dart fought back from 6-2 down in the deciding tie-break to stun rival Boulter in the first of yesterday’s Court One battles of the Britons.
British number two Norrie could meet world number four Alexander Zverev in round three following his 7-6 (3) 6-4 7-6 (6) win over pre-match favourite Draper.
“It wasn’t easy coming out here to play Jack. He’s been playing so well and we’re such good friends off the court,” said 28-year-old Norrie, a semi-finalist in 2022.
“I felt I was a little bit of the underdog coming in, so I was pretty relaxed. It’s nice to get through.”
Dart, the British number two in the women’s rankings, went from despair to joy as she battled back to beat Boulter 4-6 6-1 7-6 (8) in a nail-biting encounter.
The 27-year-old made it into the last 32 for the second time and will now meet China’s Wang Xinyu.
“I knew it was going to be tough,” said Dart. “We played each other a few weeks ago and it didn’t go my way. I wear my emotions on my sleeve so you see how I’m thinking. I’m so happy to go through.”
Boulter, who made 75 unforced errors and struggled to find rhythm, shared a hug with Dart at the net following tension between the pair after recent meetings. She said later: “I wish her the very best. I hope she goes far in this tournament.”