Katie Boulter sealed victory for Great Britain over Australia at the United Cup in Perth with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Ajla Tomljanovic in one hour and 32 minutes.
No. 56-ranked Boulter's win gave her team an unassailable 2-0 lead over the host nation in the first tie of Group C. Earlier, Cameron Norrie had silenced Australian fans when he clawed past Alex de Minaur 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(2).
In the final match of the tie, Storm Hunter and Matthew Ebden defeated Boulter and Neal Skupski 6-3, 7-6(5) in the mixed doubles to ensure Australia recorded one match win on Day 2 in Perth.
In Boulter's only previous meeting with Tomljanovic, she had lost 3-6, 4-6 on home soil in the second round of Nottingham in 2022. But the 27-year-old avenged that result in emphatic style on Tomljanovic's home turf, striking 14 winners and eight aces in total. Boulter's performance was also notably clutch: the Briton saved all six break points against her, while converting all three of her opportunities on the Tomljanovic serve.
Boulter's confident form was evident from the outset. A sequence of flashy returns garnered her a quick double-break lead; in between, she faced triple break point herself, but swatted those away with two aces and a forehand winner.
In the second set, Boulter maintained her momentum to gain an immediate break in the first game, and fended off three more break points in the sixth game to preserve her lead. Tomljanovic, who mustered only two winners off the ground in each set, was unable to make any more inroads on return, and Boulter wrapped up victory with a clean love hold.
Earlier, Great Britain’s Norrie silenced Australian fans on Friday when he downed Boulter's boyfriend, de Minaur, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(2) in a United Cup thriller.
“I really had to dig deep and play very brave in that third set,” Norrie said. “He came out at the end of the second set he was firing. I had to dig deep and play to win and in that tie-break, I found good depth on my forehand. The balls got a little bit older and I really had to hit the ball. It is always tough playing Alex. He is a good friend of mine and we always have battles. I knew I would have to run a lot today and I did. It was a great atmosphere.”
The Briton, who snapped a nine-match losing streak against Top 20 opponents with the win, made a fast start inside a packed RAC Arena to take control. He then hit through the ball with more authority in the closing stages of the third set, striking with trademark consistency to eventually grind down the stubborn de Minaur, who was chasing his first Top 20 win since August.
Supported by a lively British bench, Norrie has levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against de Minaur at 2-2 after two hours and 23 minutes. The lefty also defeated the World No. 12 at the mixed-teams event last season in Sydney.
Following its 2-1 win against Australia, Great Britain will next face United States, led by Jessica Pegula, in Group C on Sunday.
Each tie consists of three rubbers: one men’s singles, one women’s singles and one mixed doubles. There are 18 countries in the mixed-teams event, with six groups of three teams.
WTA staff contributed to this report.
