"Holding hands with another girl" - Katie Boulter jokingly raises "red flags" as boyfriend Alex de Minaur enters court with ball girl at China Open
British tennis player Katie Boulter playfully teased her boyfriend Alex de Minaur over his entrance onto the court with a ball girl at the 2023 China Open.
Both De Minaur and Boulter are currently in Beijing for the ATP 500 and WTA 1000 events respectively. The Australian kicked off his campaign with a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(6) win over Andy Murray. Subsequently, the World No. 12 took on second seed Daniil Medvedev in the Round of 16.
Ahead of his clash against the Russian, Alex De Minaur held hands with the ball girl who was escorting him to the court. Boulter, who was cheering on the 24-year-old from the stands, shared a picture of the Australian's entrance on social media and humorously pointed out the "red flags" in De Minaur's act of holding hands with another girl.
"Holding hands with another girl 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩," she posted on her Instagram story.
Alex de Minaur was unable to advance to the quarterfinals in Beijing as Medvedev secured a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory to claim his second win in a row over the Australian.
Katie Boulter, meanwhile, advanced to the main draw of the WTA 1000 event after securing dominant straight sets wins over Zhuoxuan Bai and Kamilla Rakhimova in the qualifying rounds. Up next, the Brit will play against Magdalena Frech in the Round of 64.
"Alex de Minaur has this ability that when he’s down, he starts to play better" - Daniil Medvedev on 'tough win' over Australian at China Open
Following his win, Daniil Medvedev showered praise on Alex de Minaur's ability to raise his level when trailing in a match. The Russian also expressed satisfaction with his own performance in the second set, following a challenging opening set against the Australian.
"Tough, tough like always. Alex has this ability, everyone knows it that when he’s down, he starts to play better. That’s what happened today. First set, I didn’t manage to count him down, as he was playing better because he was down. Second set I managed to play just unbelievable," he said in his post-match interview.
The World No. 3 reiterated his admiration for the Australian's resilience and acknowledged that it was a hard-fought win.
"It’s crazy how every time he is down in a match, you know he is going to start playing like he is No. 1 in the world. Tough to play against him, a tough victory, but I am happy with my level," he added.
Following his win over Alex de Minaur, Medvedev will take on Ugo Humbert for a place in the semifinals at the China Open. Humbert defeated fifth seed Andrey Rublev 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3) to book his spot in the quarterfinals.
Should Medvedev emerge victorious over the Frenchman, he will play against the winner of the match between Alexander Zverev and Nicolas Jarry in the semifinals.