British number one Katie Boulter cruised past Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets at the San Diego Open.

The 27-year-old beat world number 36 Tsurenko 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 10 minutes on her tournament debut.

Boulter is ranked 49 in the world but the result means she could rise to a career-high 43 when the next rankings are released.

She will face 13th-ranked Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.

Boulter has not played since January when she missed out on a place in the quarter-final of the Linz Open in Austria, but against Tsurenko, who withdrew from her past two matches because of an elbow injury, she was dominant.

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After trading breaks early on in the opener, Boulter secured a double break to take the set.

She then recovered from an early break of serve in the second to comfortably win the next six games without facing a break point.

"I know how tough she can be to play against," said Boulter after the win. "I knew today would be an absolute battle. I don't think either of us played our best tennis but it's about finding a way and I did that today."

Source: BBC

BDST: 1025 HRS, FEB 27, 2024 
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