Tennis-Boulter hat-trick bid ends in Nottingham
NOTTINGHAM (Reuters) -Katie Boulter's bid for a hat-trick of Nottingham titles came to an end as the Briton was beaten 6-3 3-6 6-4 by American McCartney Kessler at the WTA 250 event on Friday.
Eighth seed Boulter secured a service break early in the deciding set but Kessler stormed back to reach the semi-finals.
Boulter became Britain's number one when winning the Nottingham title in 2023 and held it until being knocked off top spot by Emma Raducanu this week.
Kessler only recorded her first main draw Tour-level win on grass last week at Queen's but is now eyeing a title on the surface. She will face either Slovak Rebecca Sramkova or Czech Linda Noskova in the semi-final.
Saturday's other semi-final will feature Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska and Poland's Magda Linette.
Yastremska beat Canada's fifth seed Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6(6), while Linette beat Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to reach a career-first semi-final on grass.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
42 minutes ago
- The Star
Cricket-India future already looking bright as new generation step up to fill Kohli and Sharma void
Cricket - International Test Match Series - First Test - England v India - Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds, Britain - June 20, 2025, India's Shubman Gill celebrates after reaching his century Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough LEEDS, England (Reuters) -The retirement of two Indian batting icons in less than a year piled the pressure on the next generation to step up, and new skipper Shubman Gill and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal look ready to fill the void left by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Losing the India bowler with the second-most test wickets in Ravichandran Ashwin as well as former captains Kohli and Rohit in quick succession left India facing a daunting task during their tour of England. With England missing several frontline bowlers through injury for the series opener at Headingley, India were keen to make their mark. Jaiswal and Gill proved that there is still plenty of depth left in the Indian batting line-up, with both scoring centuries on Friday as the visitors piled on the runs to end day one of the first test on 359-3. The next 10 tests could define how the combination of skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum are viewed, after plenty of highs and lows over the past few years, with the Ashes series in Australia following India's visit. Putting India into bat to apply further pressure, at a ground where each of the previous six test matches have been won by the side bowling first, 23-year-old Jaiswal proved that the tourists had quickly transitioned from the old to the new. The scourge of England, however, was not overawed by any stretch, as he became the first Indian batter to score centuries in his first match in both Australia and England with a flawless display of off-side batting. Three of Jaiswal's five centuries have come against England. In total, he has now amassed a colossal 813 runs in 10 tests when facing McCullum's side. "We spoke a lot in the middle (with Gill) and we just made sure we tried to play session by session," Jaiswal told reporters. "Try to get as many runs as we can get, put the ball in the right places. "We enjoy playing together, there is amazing camaraderie between us. The way he batted was incredible, so calm and composed given the circumstances. I always enjoy batting with him. "Everywhere I go, everything I do in cricket, I love it. Of course some moments are more special than others." While Jaiswal dealt with the heat on a scorching Leeds day, Gill could not have been under more scrutiny. Without a test century outside of Asia, Gill came to the crease in Kohli's number four position in the order, with quick wickets before lunch swinging the momentum in England's favour. After back-to-back fours in the 32nd over settled his early nerves, Gill sprayed boundaries to all corners, bringing up his hundred with a glorious drive through the covers. Just five India captains have reached three figures in their first match as skipper. Gill now has the opportunity on day two to go really big and really make his mark. (Reporting by Peter Hall, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Soccer-Flamengo fight back to stun Chelsea 3-1 in Club World Cup
Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group D - Flamengo v Chelsea - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. - June 20, 2025 Flamengo fans celebrate after the match REUTERS/Lee Smith PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) -Flamengo overturned a first-half deficit to defeat Chelsea 3-1 in their Club World Cup Group D clash on Friday, with second-half goals from Bruno Henrique, Danilo, and Wallace Yan securing the Brazilian side's second consecutive win in the tournament. Pedro Neto's early strike had put Chelsea ahead, but the Premier League side squandered several opportunities to extend their lead, allowing Flamengo to stage a stirring comeback. The Brazilians scored two goals in quick succession through Henrique and Danilo, in the 62nd and 65th minutes, which was followed by Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson being shown a straight red for a nasty studs up challenge three minutes later. Flamengo wrapped up the victory with Yan's strike in the 83rd minute. The result leaves Flamengo on top of Group D with six points from two matches, while Chelsea remain second with three. Esperance de Tunis and Los Angeles FC have yet to register a point, with both sides having a game in hand. (Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Fan gets three-year ban for racially abusing player on Instagram
(Reuters) -A fan who racially abused former Tamworth striker Chris Wreh after the fifth-tier club's FA Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur has been banned from attending matches for three years, the Football Association said on Friday. Harry Dunbar, of John Bunyan Close in Whiteley, admitted to sending a racist message to Wreh, who is Black, via Instagram after losing a bet on the match, which Tamworth lost 3-0 to Tottenham in the FA Cup third round on 12 January. Dunbar, 20, was sentenced at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Wednesday. In addition to the banning order, Dunbar will serve a 12-month Community Order of 200 hours unpaid work and 10 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days. "We welcome the decision of Portsmouth Magistrates' Court to impose a three-year football banning order on Harry Dunbar," the FA said in a statement. "We hope that this ruling sends a clear message that incidents of discrimination – whether in person or online – will not be tolerated, and that strong action will be taken against perpetrators of this unacceptable behaviour." Wreh refused to play for the National League side following the incident. He wrote on X, two days after the match that though he had the support of manager Andy Peaks, he was "disappointed" the club had not made a public statement condemning the abuse he had suffered. (Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
