British No 1 Katie Boulter continues to shine on grass courts with win over fifth seed Jelena Ostapenko taking her to quarter-finals in Eastbourne; Boulter successfully defended title in Nottingham earlier this month as she prepares for Wimbledon; Emma Raducanu plays later on Wednesday
Katie Boulter beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets as she continued her fine form on grass ahead of Wimbledon by reaching the quarter-finals in Eastbourne.
British No 1 Boulter – who successfully defended her title in Nottingham earlier this month – defeated fifth seed Ostapenko 6-4 7-5 and will now face third seed Jasmine Paolini or Elise Mertens.
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The world No 32 said: “I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into this grass-court season. I’m out here having fun and enjoying myself.”
Boulter took the first set amid a series of errors from Latvian Ostapenko and then broke at 5-5 in the second before holding to complete victory.
“Honestly, I was just trying to slap a little harder than she was,” Boulter said, after beating a Grand Slam winner for the first time.
“She’s so tough to play against, you never know what is going to happen and it’s completely in her control.”
Boulter’s fellow Brit Emma Raducanu will look to join her compatriot in the last eight later on Wednesday as she plays American second seed Jessia Pegula.
