Wimbledon: Solana Sierra shocks Brit Boulter to cruise to third round

After entering the main draw as a Lucky Loser, she’s become the first Argentine woman in 16 years to reach the third round

Argentine tennis player Solana Sierra came from a set behind to beat British star Katie Boulter (43) 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday. In doing so, the 101st WTA ranked player became the fourth female player to reach the third round after entering the women’s singles’ draw as a Lucky Loser.

The match started fairly tight early on, with neither player being able to take the upper hand, despite two serve breaks on each side. It would all be settled on tiebreak, where Sierra defended three set points, but ultimately fell 9-7.

The second set proved a very different affair, with Sierra taking advantage of a more erratic Boulter to break the Brit’s serve three times and take the second 6-2. She ramped up the pace even further in the deciding set, taking Boulter’s save twice in the first games, building an insurmountable advantage and going on to close up the game in the same fashion, with a 6-1.

It was Sierra’s first ever win over a Top-50 player, and also her first against a British player. 

“It feels amazing,” said Sierra after the match.  “I knew it was a really tough match. Katie is an amazing player. I tried to focus on myself and enjoy the moment. It’s just a dream to play here at Wimbledon, on this court, with this crowd… thank you”

The Argentine, who was only told she was going to play in the first round hours before her first-round match on Monday, spoke about the difficulties of her surprising performance, an issue she’s happy to work around.

“[My team and I] have already changed apartments like three times,” she joked with the tournament interviewer. “Now we’re gonna change again because I won. But like we say, it’s a good problem to have.”

Sierra will now face Spain’s Cristina Bucsa (40), who beat Donna Bekic 6-1, 6-3 on earlier Wednesday.

Sierra’s third round appearance is only the second time an Argentine has featured in the women’s singles draw since 2009, when former world number 26 Gisela Dulko reached it in 2009. Five years earlier, Paola Suárez reached the quarter finals, losing out to France’s Amélie Mauresmo. The best result ever by an Argentinian player at the Wimbledon women’s singles was the Runner-Up by Gabriela Sabatini in 1991, falling in the final 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 to Staffi Graff.

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