Katie Boulter stuns Paula Badosa and finally claims another top 10 scalp to survive Wimbledon wobble - as British No 2 secures second round spot

With a hefty dose of Centre Court 'juju' coursing through her, Katie Boulter took down No 9 seed Paula Badosa to snap a run of eight straight defeats by top 10 players.

The 27-year-old does not have the best of records against the game's elite but she cast her mind back three years to her defeat of then-No 6 seed Karolina Pliskova and that helped drive her through.

'I beat Pliskova on this court and the moment I stepped out here it reminded me of that day,' said Boulter after her 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win.

'This court is what every child dreams about playing on and winning on.'

These two were made to wait far longer than expected by Carlos Alcaraz's five-hour win over Fabio Fognini in the first match of the day. The stands were less than half full for the first set as fans took a breather on this sweltering day but by the time the match finished, with the gloom closing in, it was a well-peopled and full-throated Centre Court which roared Boulter home.

The players were wearing identical Nike outfits, with visors and long ponytails. Given both are 5ft 11in they were virtually indistinguishable and, indeed, a casual viewer would have struggled to decide which was the world No 9.

This was such a big win for Boulter, who peaked at No 23 in the world last November and talked of pushing into the top 10 but has instead slipped backwards. She is down at 43 here and came in having lost three-set matches at Queen's Club and in the Nottingham final. Had she let this one slip having taken the first set it would have been a crushing end to her grass court season.

'I didn't have any nerve there, I was completely bricking it. I've played a lot of matches recently where I've started out great and then let it slip,' said Boulter.

'I played a match like that at Queen's which hurt me a lot so I just tried to compete, fight and hope for the best today. I had to keep going after the ball and hoping that it would happen - and today it actually did happen, so I'm thrilled.'

With this victory, the draw opens up nicely for Boulter, with a second-round match on Wednesday against 21-year-old Argentine qualifier Solana Sierra.

After earlier wins for Sonay Kartal and Emma Raducanu, Boulter made it a clean sweep for Britain's top three women, who all sit inside the top 50.

There was less success for our female wildcards, with defeats for Harriet Dart and 16-year-old duo Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavjlevic.