Katie Boulter to face Sonay Kartal at Nottingham Open
Boulter won her first WTA Tour title in the city two years ago before backing it up last year, and she began her quest for a third consecutive crown with an impressive 6-2 6-2 win over New Zealand's Lulu Sun.
Sun surprisingly reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year, beating Emma Raducanu in the fourth round, but she has struggled to build on that and Boulter was in control from the start.
Right at home & winning with a smile ❣️@katiecboulter loves you all at the Lexus Nottingham Open #BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/ee2oIc7EJz
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 17, 2025
'I wasn't feeling amazing coming into this match,' said Boulter, who put aside the disappointment of losing the British number one ranking to Raducanu, on the BBC.
'I felt like it's been quite windy the last couple of days, just been trying to find my rhythm. Just stepping out onto this court, already I feel I'm right back at home. That's a nice feeling to have.'
The 28-year-old, who hails from nearby Leicestershire, defeated close friend Jodie Burrage to win her first title in Nottingham and across the last two years has played six matches against compatriots at the event.
'I've played enough of them now,' said Boulter with a smile ahead of an intriguing contest against British number three Kartal.
'It's just another match for me. I have so much respect for Sonay, she's an incredible tennis player. I've always said to her she's going to pass my ranking.
'I know how good she can be and dangerous. We actually played a really close match on grass quite a few years ago so I know it's going to be an absolute battle.'
Kartal was also comfortable in her opening match, beating France's Leolia Jeanjean 6-3 6-4, while an all-British first-round contest went the way of Fran Jones, who defeated Harriet Dart 7-5 6-4.
A strong showing from the home contingent, meanwhile, was completed by teenager Mimi Xu, who marked her WTA Tour debut by beating American Katie Volynets 6-3 6-3.
The 17-year-old, ranked 350, overcame a gap of more than 250 places and is making a strong case for a Wimbledon main draw wild card.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
34 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Today at Queen's Club Tennis Championships 2025: Prize money, Wednesday order of play, when is Jack Draper playing
Jack Draper is playing his second round match at Queen's today. | Getty Images for LTA It's day three at the Queen's Club Championships - with the men's singles reaching the second round stage. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... One of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world, the Queen's Club Championships can trace its history back to 1881 - when it was called the London Athletic Club Open Tournament and was held at Stamford Bridge. It moved to its current location in 1890 and was known as the London Grass Court Championships before taking the name of its venue in 1977. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In 1973 the women's event was discontinued, but returned this year, where qualifier Tatjana Maria beat four top 15 players to unexpectedly take the title. It's now the turn of the men to take to the court, with world number two Carlos Alcaraz and British number one Jack Draper in the draw. And while Andy Murray, who won a record five singles titles between 2009 and 2016, is no longer playing, there is some Scottish interest, with Dalkeith-born Jacob Fearnley already through to the second round - he's playing his second round match tomorrow (Thursday). Here's everything you need to know about the tournament, which runs from June 16-22. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad How much does the winner of the Queen's Club Championships get? There is a total prize pot of €2,522,220 for the 2025 championship, allocated as follows: Men's Singles Winner: €471,755 Finalist: €253,790 Semi-finalist: €135,255 Quarter-finalist: €69,100 Round of 16: €36,885 Round of 32: €19,670 Doubles (per team) Winner: €154,930 Finalist: €82,620 Semi-finalist: €41,800 Quarter-finalist: €20,910 Round of 16: €10,820 Who is playing today at Queen's , Wednesday, June 17? The third day of competition will see the start of the men's singles second round, plus men's doubles action. Here's who will be on court. Andy Murray Arena - play starts at 12noon Roberto Bautista Agut (Esp) v Jakub Mensik (Cze) Alexei Popyrin (Aus) v Jack Draper (GB) Daniel Evans (GB) v Brandon Nakashima (USA) Holger Rune (Den) v Mackenzie McDonald (USA) Court 1 - play starts at 12noon Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (Fra) and Rajeev Ram (USA) vs Julian Cash (GB) and Lloyd Glasspool (GB) Matthew Ebden (Aus) and Jordan Thompson (Aus) v Harri Heliovaara (Fin) and Henry Patten (GB) Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Taylor Fritz (USA) and Jiri Lehecka (Cze) v Alex de Minaur (Aus) and Alexei Popyrin (Aus) When is Jack Draper playing at Queen's? Jack Draper takes on Alexei Popyrin today - second on the Andy Murray Arena. It's expected that the match will start at around 1.30pm - although it depends on how long the first match takes. Who are the seeds at the 2025 Queen's Club Championships? The eight seeds, who will be kept apart until the quarter finals, are as follows: Carlos Alcaraz Jack Draper Taylor Fritz Holger Rune Alex de Minaur Ben Shelton Frances Tiafoe Jakub Menšík What's the full second round draw at the 2025 Queen's Club Championships? Top half: C Alcaraz v J Munar R Opelka v A Rinderknech H Rune v M McDonald R Bautista Agut v J Menšík Bottom half: J Lehečka v G Diallo J Fearnley v C Moutet D Evans v B Nakashim A Popyrin v J Draper Can I watch the 2025 Queen's Club Championships on television? All the action from the grass courts will be broadcast on the BBC, including BBC Two, BBC One, the BBC Sport website and the iPlayer. Here's when you can catch all the action: Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Wednesday 18 June - 1pm: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Thursday 19 June - 1pm: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Friday 20 June - 1pm: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app Saturday 21 June - 12pm: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app, 1pm: Watch Queen's Tennis semi-finals on BBC Two Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sunday 22 June - 12pm: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website/app. 2.05pm: Watch Queen's Tennis final on BBC One Who is favourite to win the 2025 Queen's Club Championships? Carlos Alcaraz is understandably a hot 5/6 favourite for the title, followed by Britain's Jack Draper (13/5), Holger Rune (12/1) and Jakub Mensik (12/1).
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
Jack Draper's six-word Andy Murray quip says it all about tennis stars' relationship
Jack Draper's six-word Andy Murray quip says it all about tennis stars' relationship Jack Draper thrashed Jenson Brooksby to reach the round of 16 at the Queen's Club Championships on Tuesday, and he had the crowd in stitches with a comment about Andy Murray Jack Draper has claimed that he's "inspired" by Andy Murray (Image: Europa Press 2025 ) Jack Draper delighted the Queen's Club crowd with a witty, six-word remark about Andy Murray following his triumphant start to the grass-court season on Tuesday. Draper sailed through to the round of 16 after a commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory over US star Jenson Brooksby, setting up a clash with Australia's Alexei Popyrin. After his straight-sets win over Brooksby, Draper was quizzed on what it felt like to secure his maiden victory on the court that's now known as the 'Andy Murray Arena'. Bringing out a huge eruption of laughter from the crowd, Draper playfully said: "Can't get rid of this guy!". Draper also teased the possibility of an exciting coaching partnership with the British tennis icon, saying: "maybe I'll see him soon". Since Murray's recent split with Novak Djokovic, there has been speculation about his readiness to return to coaching, but many anticipate his eventual re-entry into the sport will be in collaboration with one of Britain's leading talents. "Andy is an unbelievable guy," Draper added. "He's someone I'm incredibly inspired by. I wouldn't be where I am without him. Article continues below Jack Draper will play Alexei Popyrin in the round of 16 at Queen's (Image: Getty ) "I remember coming here when I was younger, watching him winning these tournaments. He's just an incredible person to get to know. "I definitely miss seeing him on the tour. But at the same time, hopefully I'll get to see him around. Who knows? Maybe I'll see him soon. Thank you, Andy. This court deserves to be named after you, for sure." Draper dispatched Brooksby in a mere 77 minutes on a blistering afternoon at Queen's, without even facing a break point during the match. Despite the challenging conditions, the home favourite remained cool and hydrated, applying ice to his neck at every changeover, reports the Express. Jack Draper was full of praise for Andy Murray after the former's win at Queen's on Tuesday (Image:for Battle of the Brits ) Article continues below A strong performance at Queen's could provide a much-needed confidence boost for Draper ahead of Wimbledon, who has yet to progress beyond the second round of his home Grand Slam. The tournament is set to commence at the end of this month. The 23-year-old has proven himself as a serious contender at the top level this season. He briefly climbed to fourth in the ATP world rankings, although he has since slipped back to sixth following Taylor Fritz's victory in Stuttgart over the weekend. Since the year's commencement, Draper has made it to the finals of both the Qatar Open and the Madrid Open as well as clinching the biggest tournament win of his career so far at Indian Wells in March.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Lions star hails Marcus Smith after admitting "maybe he's a bit of a "*****"
The British and Irish Lions have just enjoyed their first week together and Mack Hansen has hailed the personal qualities of Marcus Smith whilst acknowledging what the outside perception might be Marcus Smith has been hailed as "an absolute gent" by British and Irish Lions team-mate Mack Hansen after their first week in camp together - after admitting some onlookers may see him as "a little bit of a *****" A bulk of the squad have just been prepping in Portugal before heading to Dublin ahead of Friday's opening game. Smith and Hansen will have crossed paths on the pitch when England play Ireland, but otherwise will have had minimal interaction. The squad was players from four nations come together and head coach Andy Farrell urged his players to offer feedback on their team-mates. He called on Hansen, the Ireland and Connacht winger, to give his thoughts on an individual before he highlighted the qualities of the England and Harlequins fly-half. Smith has long been lauded for his highlight reel-worthy performances. Smith is also open to the off pitch success the sport brings and his flashy image, as well as his link-up with talent company Roc Nation, has fed a narrative that Hansen insists is not true. He said on the Ultimate Test YouTube video: "Mine's a little different, I've always thought Marcus is an incredible player and then since coming in here the last couple of days that we've spent together I've got to know him as a person and everything and I think he's an absolute gent. "Like I said I always knew he was a great player and when you look at him you could think that maybe he's a little bit of a *****, but he's actually a great bloke. So I've gained a lot of respect for him from that, I think he's a really genuine person." England and now Lions captain Maro Itoje was also called upon to give his thoughts and he singled out Tommy Freeman for particular praise. The Northampton winger has continued to blossom with Itoje citing his stellar performance in the recent European Cup final. Another Englishman in Jack van Poortvliet has been called up to train with the Lions after Ireland's Jamison Gibson-Park suffered a minor glute strain, which is not thought to be serious, but will hamper him in the lead up to the Argentina game on Friday night. Van Poortvliet flew to Dublin on Tuesday morning to help the team prepare. He joins Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour who weren't named in the initial squad but have made up the numbers recently.
