On the biggest stage of all, the Center Court, Boulter’s fame met reality in an impressive way, as she achieved the biggest victory of her career to upset Karolina Pliskova, the sixth place and last year’s finalist, reaching for the first time in the third round Grand Slam in her career with a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory. Her victory was the culmination of another positive day for the British players. Heather Watson reached the third round of Wimbledon for the fourth time in her career, defeating Wang Qiang 7-5, 6-4. Liam Broady, meanwhile, went deeper than ever into a grand slam, defeating Diego Schwartzman, the 12th winner, 6-2, 4-6, 0-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1 . “I have no words at the moment, I am literally trembling,” Boulter said after her victory. Despite her silence, Bulter had entered the match with tangible faith. After starting the season on the grass with the best win of her career over Alison Riske No. 35 in Birmingham, just last week Boulter beat Pliskova 6-4 in the third set for her first win in the top 10. Pliskova, meanwhile, has been a shadow of herself since returning from arm surgery in March. “I think it really helped me,” Boulter said. “It’s easy to say I think I can win this fight. “But going out and doing it a week ago makes a difference.” With obvious weapons at her disposal, Boulter’s abilities are no secret. She stands at 5’11 ”, blessed with a strong first serve and a heavy forehand with which she constantly tries to dictate. He knows he has the tools to pierce most defenses. But the best players in the world show off her weaknesses, exposing her defense, and Pliskova’s controlled aggression triumphed in the first set. However, throughout the second set, Boulter began to impose itself. She decisively maintained her serve in the second half and then was the most consistent player in the tiebreak. With the level of the fight, Boulter moved on. She served exceptionally well in the third set, going through her own serve games while winning Pliskova’s second serve. An opening eventually resulted in 4-4 as he scored a formidable comeback game with an overwhelming backhand effort down the line. With the best victory of her life on the line, she attacked without nervousness until the end. Britain’s Heather Watson is celebrating after her victory in the second round match against the Chinese Wang Kiang. Photo: Matthew Childs / Reuters Moments after the victory, as she achieved her achievement and the crowd of the Center rushed, tears rolled down Boulter’s eyes. He thought of both the family who had come to support him and those who could not be there: “I will probably cry,” he said. “My grandmother died two days ago and I just want to dedicate it to her.” Three years ago, Boulter was established in the top 100 and put herself in a position to compete regularly in these races. But then a stress fracture in her back forced her to leave. Having been ranked high enough to compete worthily at Wimbledon in 2019, he was forced to retire. It closed the year out of the top 300. It was a long way back. As Boulter struggled to get back into the rankings (now ranked No. 118), any progress she made was reduced due to ongoing injury problems. Then there was the challenge of humiliating himself to play the lower ITF levels he thought he had finally escaped. Only during this year’s grass season, with wild opportunities on the big stages, do things finally come together. “I feel like I’ve shown in some of the races recently some of the things I can do,” he said earlier in the week. “It simply came to our notice then. For me, this is the most difficult challenge. Of course, I have so much to work on in my game. I really feel like I can go on. “But I feel I can compete with many of the best players in the world.” At Center Court, these feelings were fully realized. He then faces France’s Harmony Tan, who defeated Serena Williams, with a great opportunity to go deeper into the tournament and enjoy even bigger games to come. As the numerous British players prospered, Britain’s No. 2 Harriet Dart could not overtake Jessica Pegula, 12th, who reached the third round with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
