THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE, KATIE! BOULTER'S BOYFRIEND ALEX DE MINAUR CRUISES INTO WIMBLEDON THIRD ROUND WITH STRAIGHT SETS WIN OVER JAUME MUNAR... BUT CAN ONLY WATCH ON AS BRITAIN STAR LOSES TO HARRIET DART

• Alex de Minaur advanced to Wimbledon third round 
• He raced to support girlfriend Katie Boulter 
• But British star suffered defeat by Harriet Dart 

It was a strong start to the day for tennis' golden couple as Alex de Minaur cruised into the third round of Wimbledon, but girlfriend Katie Boulter could not progress in the women's competition. 

The Australian, 25, proved too good for Spanish underdog Jaume Munar on Court Three on Thursday morning, taking the second round match 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the next stage of the men's singles tournament.

De Minaur, who has been dating British star Boulter since March 2022, was on course to win his match before his girlfriend took to Court One at 1pm against Harriet Dart. 

But he failed to convert three match points and was broken by Munar, meaning he didn't finish until 1.10pm. 

'It would've been better if I didn't get broken in the third set,' he said post-match. 'I'll do my best, have a shower, cool down and get over to Court One to support Katie. 

'I am very happy to get the win today. It is never easy playing in these conditions and closing the match out, [but] I played some great tennis. I am very happy to be in the third round and very happy the sun is out here in London.'

De Minaur was spotted taking his seat at Court One just 45 minutes after his match ended.

Journalist Stuart Ballard tweeted: 'Alex De Minaur arrives at Court One to watch his girlfriend Katie Boulter just 45 minutes after he won his second-round match

'First chant from the Aussie: ‘Come on Katie!’'

But Boulter lost out in a thrilling contest, with Dart prevailing in the decisive tie-breaker, after first fearing that a four-point deficit was too big a gap to overhaul, reducing her to tears.

Yet she turned it around to win the tie-breaker 10-8 and dump the No 32 seed out of the tournament. 

De Minaur enters Wimbledon in good form, having won a warm up competition in the Netherlands last month. He says he has aspirations to go far this year. 

'This is always a surface I've enjoyed,' he said. 'It's a fun part of the season for me. 

'It's special playing here at Wimbledon so I'll do my best and hope to go deep.'

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2024-07-04T12:38:09Z dg43tfdfdgfd