Katie Boulter’s US Open woes looked distant when she showed both character and class to beat Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the China Open on Friday.

It was Boulter’s first taste of tournament action since her second-round US Open exit to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro – a loss the British No. 1 described as “terrible” and self-criticism over her attitude to “just do it.” try”, triggered “survive a match”.

Boulter struggled to adjust to her opening game against Townsend and fell 4-1 behind in the first set – but she battled back and secured a straight-sets win with an eventual great performance in Beijing.

The American gained an early lead and was finally able to hold his own in the opening game before easily managing a break and leading again to 3-0.

Boulter appeared to be struggling to contain Townsend’s forehand, the American charging deep up the court and relishing in troubling the Brit, whose problems at the US Open initially looked like they would be exacerbated by a difficult start.

But the British No. 1 soon found her feet and secured victory on her serve, and although Boulter was 4-1 down at one point, she recovered to get her first break to make it 4-3.

Any sign of lack of confidence from Boulter was soon put to rest as she staged a fantastic comeback in the first set, holding with ease before dominantly defeating Townsend.

Towards the end of the set, Boulter had no such problems with her mentality and showed her best tennis in an impressive defense at 5-4 to level the game at 15-15 at the best point of the match by sending back from deep several times After Townsend throws the ball from full length, he unleashes a powerful forehand drive over the line.

Her game that decided the set was by far her most impressive game in the duel. After a dominant start, the complexity of Townsend’s afternoon changed significantly.

But the American responded well as the pair battled to an even second set, firing seven straight service games, with both looking accomplished when serving.

The resilient Boulter eventually took a 5-4 lead and powered Townsend to victory. She seemed confused by the way she found herself in the precarious position and needed a break to stay – something she had only managed once in the match so far.

And the British No. 1 duly put her American counterpart in their place, even if she did difficult work with a few botched shots at the net to secure a second-round draw against Coco Gauff or Clara Burel.

Naomi Osaka was in top form at the box office, recovering from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 over Yulia Putintseva, moving her level with Katie Volynets in the second round of the China Open.

“I told myself to keep fighting,” Osaka said in her on-court interview. “I traveled all the way here and it would be unfair to me not to give it my best.

Osaka – who returned to action in Beijing under new coach Patrick Mouratoglou – was slow to get out of the blocks and was broken twice by a resilient Putintseva in the opening set.

But the fans’ favorite found her touch in the second round and immediately beat her opponent before taking a 3-1 lead.

Putintseva made it 3-2 in the second set and the game then suffered a bizarre moment when the Kazakh star triggered a brief stoppage in play because a car alarm sounded in the distance. The referee urged the No. 21 seed to return to play as the crowd cheered, and Putintseva eventually erased Osaka’s two-point lead, breaking game point.

Osaka soon fell behind 3-4, but that only seemed to bring out her best tennis as she went on a blistering run to take the second set with three games in a row.

A double break in the third set put Osaka firmly in the lead, and despite conceding two quick games, the 26-year-old rallied to put the game beyond doubt, demonstrating her confident potential with a flawless finish to make it 6-2 in one set only takes 32 minutes.

Osaka’s comeback win showed her elite mentality on the court and she is not putting any extra pressure on herself heading into the tournament in Beijing.

“Absolutely no expectations,” she said. “I’m just taking it one game at a time, I’m grateful to be here and I hope I can win many more games and play in front of you.”

Coco Gauff is also through to the next round in Beijing after easily defeating Clara Burel in straight sets.

The American, number four in the Chinese capital, prevailed 7:5 and 6:3 in 100 minutes, after a tight first set in which she secured a set point from 5:4 behind.

She now faces Boulter on Sunday and the pair are even neck and neck, with the Brit winning their first meeting in Melbourne of 2021 before Gauff beat the 26th seed in Montreal last year.