Last week, Boulter helped Great Britain to reach the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup with a statement win over Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, a welcome return to form after her Wimbledon ended with a second-round defeat to lucky loser Solana Sierra and she failed to progress from round one at the US Open.
At Wimbledon, Norrie made the last eight of a major for the first time in three years but was knocked out by finalist Carlos Alcaraz then, at the US Open, regretted how ‘overconfidence’ caused him to throw away a tight contest with four-time champion Novak Djokovic.
Elsewhere in Beijing, Coco Gauff’s title defence continued with a 6-4 6-0 victory, easing past Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova to reach the last 32.
In the next round, the world number three will face Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who also secured an emphatic win, dispatching Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-2 6-0.
