Boulter relief at Beijing win after ‘tough months’

Katie Boulter won the China Open and defeated Hailey Baptiste, saying she was relieved to have “a tough couple of months” behind her.

To advance to the second round in Beijing, the British number two defeated the American 7-5, 7-5, and 7-6.

Solana Sierra, a spoiled loser, knocked the 29-year-old out of the second round of Wimbledon, and Marta Kostyuk, a Ukrainian, did the same.

In the final set against Baptiste, she regrouped after a double break and made it a point to win.

“I’ve had a difficult couple of months,” Boulter said.

“I’m really pleased with how I’m now putting myself out there and fighting every single thing.”

Amanda Anisimova, who finished second at the US Open, and Boulter will now have to contend with.

After tweaking her serve, she won the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, but she has had a mixed year.

She was defeated by the United States by 3-6, 6-4, and 6-2 in her next singles match against world number seven Jessica Pegula.

Novak Djokovic’s participation in the Shanghai Masters will be his first since the US Open semi-final defeat.

In the final years of his career, the Serb has stated on numerous occasions that he will cut back on his time to work out to protect his body.

The 38-year-old reached the Shanghai final last year, but Jannik Sinner, who was then the world’s number one, lost.