Katie Boulter overcame issues along with her serve to edge previous Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4 6-4 in the opening round of the Merida Open.
The British No 3 landed solely 36 per cent of her first serves in opposition to her out-of-form opponent, who has now misplaced six of her seven matches in 2026.
By distinction, Boulter received her most up-to-date event on the Ostrava Open, however nonetheless seemed out-of-sorts in Mexico as she made 38 unforced errors and had her serve damaged 5 instances in a contest which lasted virtually two hours.
The first 4 video games of the match went in opposition to serve earlier than Haddad Maia finally held, though it was Boulter, who held in the sixth and tenth video games to take the opening set.
The 29-year-old broke twice extra to race right into a 3-0 lead in the second however skilled extra issues along with her personal serve, finally taking a second match level after hitting a ninth double fault on the primary.
“I just tried to keep believing in what I’d been doing,” Boulter stated.
“Obviously very completely different circumstances from what I’ve been enjoying in not too long ago and I simply had to alter and preserve combating.
“I’ve had many battles with Bea and she’s an incredible player and she never gives you anything so it was a long match… I’m pleased I got through that.”
Norrie suffers fast defeat in Mexico
Cameron Norrie’s Abierto Mexicano Telcel marketing campaign lasted simply 56 minutes as he misplaced 6-3 6-2 to Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar.
A good first set was determined when Jodar took a second break level in the eighth recreation to lead 5-3 then served out the opener.
A whirlwind second set was something however aggressive as Jodar, a former junior US Open champion, reeled off 5 video games in a row – a run throughout which he misplaced solely two factors.
