Katie Boulter is on the road to recovery, saying: "I feel my game is in a good place, I feel stronger than I ever have before and I hope I can go a lot further this year"; she will be hoping to play at Wimbledon, which begins on June 28
Tuesday 8 June 2021 18:05, UK
Britain's Katie Boulter is getting closer to where she wants to be heading into Wimbledon, which begins later this month.
The 24-year-old is making important steps on her road back from a serious back injury, which put the brakes on a promising rise in her career, having recently broken into the world's top 100.
Boulter, playing her first WTA Tour match since March and currently ranked 262, recorded a fine first-round win at the Viking Open in Nottingham on Monday as she beat Maria Camila Osorio Serrano 6-2 6-3.
And she is excited about what could be to come.
"I am getting closer to where I want to be, I want to get my ranking up, that's my number one goal and get back to where I was and push forward from there," she said.
"I feel my game is in a good place, I feel stronger than I ever have before and I hope I can go a lot further this year.
"I put a lot of work in behind the scenes that people don't see, I really feel it will pay off eventually and hopefully that will be soon, but I have got to be patient.
"This might be one of my favourite courts, if not my favourite. It feels great for me."
British men's No 1 Dan Evans says his need for match action forced him to enter another tournament bubble in Nottingham.
Evans feels his decision to get back into a bubble was justified.
Asked what made him change his mind after Paris, he said: "The tennis aspect really. It is a very strict bubble and it is not ideal to be in another bubble again straight away but my tennis needed it and that was the decision really.
"The coach thought it would be good to play. It was a good option and I am happy I came and played and whatever happened today would have been a good start for the grass.
"Just for my body getting used to it, all sorts of things, it has been nice to play the way I enjoy. I thought I did a good job today.
"It has been nice to get back on. I enjoy playing on the grass and it has perked everyone up.
"It has been enjoyable so far and hopefully I can keep raising my level and looking on to bigger things than this week."
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