Boost for British hopes as Katie Boulter, Liam Broady and Heather Watson all win

Katie Boulter starred on another day of strong British performances by defeating last year’s Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova to reach the third round of a grand slam for the first time.

The 25-year-old went into the match full of confidence after a fine run of tournaments on the grass, including victory over Pliskova in Eastbourne last week.

And, after defeats for Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray on Centre Court on Wednesday, Boulter thrilled the home crowd by coming from a set down to win 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-4.

Boulter then became emotional during her post-match interview as she dedicated the victory to her grandmother, who died two days ago.

“It’s been a tough few days for sure,” she said. “I’ve tried to kind of get my emotions out and deal with the situation, try and keep my head on the tennis. Her favourite tournament was Wimbledon. That’s why it’s a special one for me. She’d watch every single match that was on the TV.”

Boulter next takes on France’s Harmony Tan, who followed up her victory over Serena Williams by defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Boulter was joined in the last 32 by Heather Watson, who needed just one game to complete a 7-5 6-4 win over Wang Qiang in a match held over from Wednesday night, and a delighted Liam Broady.

Broady faced a rematch against 12th seed Diego Schwartzman, who he lost to in four sets last year, and he turned the tables by coming from two sets to one down to win 6-2 4-6 0-6 7-6 (6) 6-1.

Boulter and Broady are two of the players with most cause to rue the ATP and WTA’s decision to strip Wimbledon of ranking points in response to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.

“I’m losing 45 points from last year, so I think I’ll probably drop back now to 150,” said Broady, who is yet to