Boulter survives Volynets 7-5 0-6 6-4 in Cincinnati opener

Katie Boulter came through a wildly uneven opening-round match in Cincinnati, beating Katie Volynets 7-5 0-6 6-4 after being blown off the court in the middle set. Neither serve offered much shelter: Boulter landed just 57.5% of her first deliveries and won only 50% of those points, while piling up seven double faults and no aces. Volynets was the sharper server on first balls, taking 66% behind a 60.2% first-serve rate, but her second serve leaked badly at 34.3% and five double faults followed. That gap decided a tight decider, and Boulter's reward was a place in the second round.