Japan Open tennis quarter-finals: Boulter beats Ruzic 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Katie Boulter recovered from a set and a break down in Osaka to set up a semi-final against Katerina Siniakova.
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Katie Boulter recovered from a set and a break down in Osaka to set up a semi-final against Katerina Siniakova.
Katie Boulter beat Antonia Ruzic 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 in the Japan Open women’s singles quarter-finals, recovering from a set and a break down, BBC Sport reports. The two-hour victory in Osaka gave the eighth seed her first semi-final place since Queen’s in June.
Sonay Kartal had displaced Boulter as British number one on Monday after reaching the Wuhan final. Reaching the last four in Osaka was enough for Boulter to overturn her 55-point deficit, according to BBC Sport.
Ruzic won the opening set and moved ahead in the second by breaking Boulter’s serve—winning a game in which Boulter served. Boulter saved two chances for Ruzic to break again in the third game, avoiding a two-break deficit.
After the players exchanged three successive breaks of serve, Boulter held serve in the seventh game. That hold was the second of eight games she won in a row, a run that took her to a 4–0 lead in the deciding set.
Boulter could not finish the match while serving at 5–2, but won the next game on Ruzic’s serve without conceding a point to complete the victory.
BBC Sport projects that Boulter will overtake Kartal and return to the world top 50 when the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings update on Monday, regardless of her semi-final result. The ranking change has not yet taken effect.
Boulter next faces Katerina Siniakova for a place in the final.
The 64-minute victory in Osaka gives the Czech player her sixth career singles title and her first since 2023.
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BBC Sport reports that doubles world number one Siniakova and 2023 champion Ashlyn Krueger will meet for the women’s singles title in Osaka on Sunday.
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