‘Good time for Katie Boulter to play vulnerable Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon’
Anne Keothavong believes it is a “good time” for Katie Boulter to face Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon as the defending champion has “looked vulnerable at times.”
Boulter will face 2022 Wimbledon winner Rybakina in the third round of The Championships on Centre Court on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Brit defeated Daria Saville in straight sets in the opening round and Viktoriya Tomova in three sets in the second round. The world No 89 won her maiden WTA title in Nottingham last month without dropping a set.
World No 3 Rybakina withdrew from the French Open last month due to a respiratory illness and lost in the second round in Berlin in her only grass-court tune-up event.
The 24-year-old Kazakh came from a set down to beat Shelby Rogers in the first round, before seeing off Alize Cornet in straight sets.
Keothavong, Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup captain, highlighted Rybakina’s lack of tennis coming into Wimbledon and the crowd support Boulter will receive in the match.
“I think this is a good time for Katie to play against her. Rybakina hasn’t really come into this year’s Championships playing lots of tennis,” the former British No 1 told the BBC.
“She has looked vulnerable at times and, if you were in Rybakina’s shoes, you’re up against a British No 1 who is popular and will have the majority of that crowd supporting her. It is a situation I don’t think Rybakina has found herself in too often.”
Boulter looked ahead to the prospect of playing the defending champion after her second round victory.
“I think it’s a super great opportunity for me. I’ve got nothing to lose. She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason. I’m going to have a swing and go for it. I’ve got a lot of tennis behind me. It’s time for me to test my skills against an incredible champion,” said the Brit.
Rybakina discussed the challenge of facing Boulter and having the crowd against her following her win over Cornet.
“For sure the atmosphere is going to be a bit different. The crowd won’t be supporting me that much. I’m sure it’s going to be good. Yeah, just hopefully I’m going to win this match. I try my best. Yeah, we see how it’s going to go,” said the 24-year-old.
I think we practiced once maybe last year. Actually here at Wimbledon. She’s tough player. Her game is aggressive. Also she has a good serve. It’s going to be tough one, but I’m going to watch also a bit her matches and talk with the coach about the tactics.”
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