Boulter upsets Badosa on Centre Court; Paolini survives at Wimbledon
No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini prevailed in a three-set battle at Wimbledon on Monday, but No. 9 seed Paula Badosa was not so fortunate as she lost in three sets to British hope Katie Boulter.
Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws
Here's the lowdown on those two first-round tussles involving Top 10 players:
Paolini triumphs: Italy's Paolini, last year's Wimbledon runner-up, posted a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback over returning mom Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
"In the third set, for sure, I played the best set of the three," Paolini said afterward. "In the end, I played a bit better, and I'm happy with the win, because it was a tough match."
Paolini took 1 hour and 51 minutes to pull off the win on No. 2 Court, setting up a second-round meeting with World No. 80 Kamilla Rakhimova. Paolini leads their head-to-head 1-0, with an ITF hard-court win over Rakhimova in 2022.
Paolini went 0-3 in her first three Wimbledon main-draw showings (including two losses to former champion Petra Kvitova), but that all changed last year in London, when she stormed to her second straight Grand Slam final.
Paolini fell to Barbora Krejcikova in last year's Wimbledon final, but that run bolstered her grass-court confidence. And she needed all of that mettle to hold off Sevastova on Monday.
Former World No. 11 Sevastova was contesting her first Grand Slam main draw since the 2022 Australian Open. She gave birth to her daughter Alexandra in 2023, and during her tour return, she suffered a serious ACL injury in 2024.
But the Latvian sent out an upset alert early on Monday. Sevastova won the first set, showing flashes of the form that led her to three straight US Open quarterfinals between 2016 and 2018 (including a semifinal finish in 2018).
However, Paolini regrouped in the second set, where she hit 10 winners to Sevastova's two. Sevastova took a medical time-out after the second set, where she was undone by 13 unforced errors.
Paolini maintained the momentum in the third set, where she once again dictated play on a steamy Monday. In a near-carbon copy of the second set, Paolini had 13 winners while Sevastova had three.
The win continues Paolini's magical career turnaround at Grand Slam events. She started her career 4-12 in Grand Slam first-round matches, but since 2023, the Italian has gone a perfect 7-0 in her first-round matches at Slams.
Paolini is one of five women to have reached the third round or better at each of the last six Grand Slam events (along with Iga Swiatek, Elina Svitolina, Coco Gauff and Badosa).
Boulter notches fourth Top 10 win: World No. 43 Boulter, though, stopped Badosa's run of third-round showings at Slams with an upset victory on Centre Court on Monday.
Boulter, the British No. 2, outlasted Spain's Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in 1 hour and 51 minutes on the biggest court of her home Slam. Boulter has now reached the second round or better at every Wimbledon this decade.
It's a landmark victory for Boulter, who came into the match just 3-16 against Top 10 players in her career. This marks her first Top 10 win since she defeated Jessica Pegula in the opening week of the 2024 season at United Cup.
"Centre Court Wimbledon, as a Brit, against a Top 10 player, for me doesn't get that much better," Boulter said afterwards. "It is one of the reasons why I do play tennis, to win matches like that, and to have a go at the best in the world. I do feel like it is one of the best wins for sure in my career."
Boulter had to fight back from a deficit, as she dropped her service in the opening game of the decisive third set. However, the Briton broke back immediately and she stayed neck-and-neck with Badosa for the duration.
It fell into place quickly at 5-4, after one forehand winner by Boulter combined with two Badosa miscues and lined up triple match point. On Boulter's second chance, a Badosa forehand found the net and the homeland hope advanced.
Boulter will now have her first career meeting with lucky loser Solana Sierra in the second round. Argentina's Sierra lost in the final round of qualifying before finding out on Monday she would replace Greet Minnen in the main draw.
Mere hours later, World No. 101 Sierra ousted Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 7-6(8) for her first career Grand Slam main-draw win, in just her third Grand Slam main draw appearance.
