British tennis fans cried “double fault” as Katie Boulter lost at Wimbledon – then her Aussie boyfriend knocked out fellow Brit Liam Broady.
Katie, 25, admitted she felt “emotionally drained” after losing in just 51 minutes, four days after her gran died.
She had won the nation’s hearts after beating 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova on Thursday – emotionally dedicating that win to gran Jill, who she revealed had died aged 83 just 48 hours earlier.
But Katie came crashing down to earth yesterday as she was beaten 6-1, 6-1 as her grandad Brian, 86, and her mum Sue, 57, looked on.
Katie, who lost to French star Harmony Tan, 24, said: “This week has probably been the tipping point. It’s been very emotional. It kind of just caught up with me a little bit.
“I think I may have seen it coming a little bit. I started to reach my emotional and physical point where I was struggling a little bit this morning in the warm-up.”
Officials had received criticism after putting her match on Court 2, which has a capacity of just 4,000, rather than 15,000-seater Centre Court.
But Katie admitted: “Whether I was on Centre Court, Court 1 or Court 20, I’m not sure if that’s what was going to get me through.”
Katie, from Leicestershire, later watched boyfriend Alex De Minaur inflict double heartbreak on home fans by beating Liam Broady, 28, in straight sets on Centre Court.
De Minaur, 23, also knocked out Brit Jack Draper, 20, in round two.
Paying tribute to Katie, Alex, 23, said: “Not many people know how strong she is, as a human being, as a character.
“To come back after all these injuries and show what she can do on a daily basis is just amazing.
“She’s had a taxing grass court season and you can just tell she gave it 150% and just emptied the tank. I’m so proud of what she’s been able to do.”
The royal box was crammed with stars – including England soccer boss Gareth Southgate and Olympic gold medallists Tom Daley with his husband Dustin Lance Black, and Adam Peaty and his partner Eirianedd Munro.
