Boulter came into the opening major of the season on the back of a fine 2024 in which she rose into the world’s top 25 for the first time.
A deep run at a Grand Slam tournament has continued to elude her, though, despite the benefit of being seeded at the French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and now the Australian Open.
Before the tournament on the Melbourne hard courts, Boulter talked about “putting more emphasis” on performing well at the sport’s most prestigious events.
What looked to be a favourable draw enhanced the opportunity to achieve that.
But she admitted battling past Canada’s 98th-ranked Rebecca Marino in the first round was “stressful” and again looked subdued against another player ranked way below her.
Kudermetova has much superior pedigree than Marino, having climbed into the top 10 for a couple months in late 2022.
Boulter was unable to get into the early rallies as powerful baseliner Kudermetova used the weapons which have served her well in the past to move 5-1 ahead.
But her inconsistency – the reason why she did not stay a top-10 player for long – allowed Boulter back in.
Boulter clawed her way back to 5-4 before Kudermetova called for the physio at the changeover before she served for the set.
A long delay saw Kudermetova lay on the court to receive treatment on what appeared to be her lower back.
While Kudermetova regrouped to dominate the tie-break, Boulter took charge at the start of the second set with a double break for a 4-1 lead, and grew in confidence as she levelled the match.
Pressure continued to be put on Kudermetova’s serve in the decider.
Boulter could not convert a break point at 1-1 as her opponent’s returning dragged her across the baseline and momentum quickly swung as Kudermetova rattled off the final four games.