Britain’s Katie Boulter was forced to battle hard against China’s Wang Xiyu to reach the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open.
Boulter required two hours and 14 minutes to defeat Wang 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 to continue her fine form in Asia.
The 28-year-old from Leicestershire, who reached the semi-finals of the Japan Open last week, has enjoyed a career-best season, winning two WTA Tour titles and reaching a high of 27 in the world rankings.
After saving five break points in the third game, Boulter dropped serve two games later but recovered to make it 4-4 amid a run of 12 points in a row.
Wang, 23, had the first chance in the tie-break but Boulter held firm, taking her second set point, and she hit back strongly after losing a break advantage in the second set to book her spot in the last eight.
“That was quite the match,” said Boulter in her on-court interview.
“She’s an incredible opponent, never lets up. Credit to her, she just keeps hitting and she’s so talented. She made me work very hard today, which I’m not that happy about to be honest.
“She’s got a bright future ahead of her, that’s for sure. I just had to stay there as much as I possibly could and I’m proud of myself today.”
Boulter will now look to match last week’s run in Tokyo when she takes on either seventh seed Varvara Gracheva or Tatiana Prozorova.
Tale of the Tape
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- WTA Finals Riyadh – (November 2-9)
- Belgrade Open – ATP 250 (November 3-9)
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