Katie Boulter dreading prospect of playing fiance Alex De Minaur at United Cup

British number one Katie Boulter admitted she was dreading the prospect of playing against her fiance Alex De Minaur after leading Great Britain to victory over Argentina in the United Cup.

Boulter beat Nadia Podoroska in straight sets in Sydney, then paired up with Charles Broom in the doubles to win the tie after Billy Harris had lost his singles rubber to Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

The 28-year-old could come up against fiance De Minaur in a mixed doubles match when Britain face Australia on New Year’s Day.

“I don’t know about having a match against him, I think that’s going to be terrible, and a bit of a popcorn match,” Boulter said. “But yeah, let’s hope we don’t reach there and we win before.”

Boulter secured a 6-2 6-3 win over Podoroska, and Harris, stepping up on the men’s side in the absence of the injured Jack Draper, looked set to continue the winning theme as he took the first set against Etcheverry 6-3.

However, a rankings difference of 66 kicked in and Etcheverry won the next two sets 6-3 6-2 to level the tie, leaving Boulter and Broom to secure victory with a 7-6 (4) 7-5 win over Etcheverry and Maria Lourdes Carle.

Boulter told the United Cup website: “Very, very pleased with today. Last year I played so well in singles and didn’t get any mixed doubles rubbers, so I really wanted this one so badly.

“I feel like we both played so great together considering it’s our first time. But I’m just thrilled to get the win.”