ALEX DE MINAUR'S SIX-WORD REMINDER TO KATIE BOULTER AFTER WIMBLEDON DEFEAT SAYS IT ALL

British tennis ace Katie Boulter has shared the comforting words her boyfriend Alex de Minaur offered her after a heart-wrenching defeat at Wimbledon.

Boulter, 27, was up against fellow Brit Harriet Dart at the iconic tournament, giving up several match points before losing 10-8 in a final set tie-break. The British number one made a promising start, taking the first set 6-4, but Dart made a strong comeback, clinching the second set 6-1.

The deciding set came down to a nail-biting tie-break, with victory seemingly within Boulter's grasp as Dart broke down in tears, trailing 6-2.

However, Dart regained her composure, claiming eight of the next 10 points, to defeat Boulter, who revealed that a six-word piece of advice from Australian tennis star De Minaur helped put the result in perspective.

"One match doesn't define my career. That's the first thing he [De Minaur] said to me when I got off the court," Boulter shared during her post-match press conference. "He knows what he's talking about. It's not his first rodeo. He's been through it all before, and I'm lucky to have that support."

The loss would have been a bitter pill to swallow for Boulter, who was seeded at the tournament for the first time. Meanwhile, Dart is set to face China's Xin Wang on Saturday and was thrilled to secure a win over Boulter.

"I knew it was always going to be a really tough battle, we played a few weeks ago and it didn't go my way," Dart said. "I wear my emotions on my sleeve so you see everything how I'm thinking, unfortunately, but I'm so happy to be able to get through. Thank you so much for the support, it was so fab."

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De Minaur, 25, watched the nearly three-hour-long drama unfold from Boulter's box, shortly after his victory over Spaniard Jaume Munar. The couple, who have been together since 2020, are one of several high-profile relationships within the sport.

Boulter has already hinted that the pair may take some time away from tennis after Wimbledon but they still face a hectic summer. Both players are set to participate in the Paris Olympics, while number nine seed De Minaur is still in the running to win his first Grand Slam.

Ahead of the tournament, Boulter explained: "I watch way too much tennis. My whole life is tennis. My boyfriend's in tennis, so I don't necessarily get that much chance to be outside of it. I do love the sport and I love keeping track of how people are doing. There are times when I do say to myself and Alex that we need to get away from it and just focus a little bit."

2024-07-05T13:06:10Z dg43tfdfdgfd