British number one Katie Boulter did not allow another Just Stop Oil protest to get in her way of a place in the second round at Wimbledon after a comfortable victory over Daria Saville.
Boulter was trailing 4-2 in the first-set tie-break when a protester ran on to Court 18 and threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces just two hours after a first protest on the same court.
But after a small delay, Boulter won the following five points to claim the first set and then raced through the second set to claim a 7-6 (4) 6-2 win against her Australian opponent.
Roaring through at @Wimbledon ?@katiecboulter moves into the 2nd round in style ?
#BackTheBrits ?? | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/w3QEyv7idl
— LTA (@the_LTA) July 5, 2023
The 26-year-old is enjoying an impressive run, having won her maiden WTA Tour title in Nottingham at the start of the grass-court season, and as the highest ranked Briton she will have designs on a deep run at her home grand slam.
She had to do it the hard way, though, as she had to resume the match – that was suspended 28 hours earlier due to bad rain – serving to stay in the first set, but delivered a service hold to love.
But after just 10 points of the resumption, and trailing 4-2 in the tie-break, a protester ran onto court and play was suspended again.
Along with Saville, she helped the ground staff in the clean-up operation and the mini-break seemed to work wonders for her as she reeled off five successive points in the tie-break to claim the first set.
She won four of the next six games before serving out an impressive victory.
A showcourt appearance will probably now lie in wait in her second round match against Bernarda Pera or Viktoriya Tomova.
