Carrying added belief from the finest season of her career last year, Boulter has been a talismanic presence for Britain in the mixed gender team event.

The world number 24 led her nation into the quarter-finals with crucial singles victories against Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska and Australia’s Olivia Gadecki in the group stage.

Facing Swiatek was a step up in class, but presented an opportunity for Boulter to showcase her ability against the most dominant player on the WTA Tour over the past three seasons.

A rampant start by the Pole, who moved 4-1 ahead in the first set, was ominous for the Briton, but she showed her quality in a spirited response.

Causing problems with her baseline power, Boulter began to match Swiatek’s intensity and put a contest which showcased the crisp ball-striking of both players back on serve.

Swiatek has sometimes struggled to get to grips with heavy-hitting opponents, often becoming less accurate with her returning as she tries to match their power.

Errors crept in as Boulter continued to pummel her groundstrokes, with the Briton playing some of the best tennis of her career to move into a one-set lead.

Sustaining that level was not going to be easy, though.

Swiatek hit back by making another strong start in the second set, taking some of the pace out of the rallies with loopier returns and going on to comfortably level.

Momentum continued to fluctuate as Boulter bounced back to secure an early break in the decider.

After Swiatek took a medical timeout, the Briton lost the next eight points as her 2-1 lead turned into a 3-2 deficit, while both players were unable to take further break points in the eighth and ninth games.

Had Boulter taken her chance, it would have left her serving for the biggest win of her career by ranking.

Instead, Swiatek survived and broke Boulter to love, throwing her racquet high into the air to demonstrate her relief at coming through.