Katie Boulter looking ahead to Wimbledon after Nottingham exit
Katie Boulter decided to focus on the positives despite seeing her quest for a third straight title at the LTA's Lexus Nottingham Open end in the quarter-final.
Boulter battled bravely but lost out to American McCartney Kessler 6-3 3-6 6-4 at centre court, ending not only Boulter's hopes of a hat-trick of successes but snapping her 12-match winning streak in Nottingham.
Yet despite defeat in the last eight, Boulter believes her performance provided plenty to take heart from.
'I felt like I played some really good tennis,' said Boulter. 'It's unfortunate that I lost today but I actually think that was one of my better matches here.
'It's pretty ironic but it is what it is. I thought there some really good positives to take from it.
Backhand brilliance from @katiecboulter ☄
Your @LexusUK Shot of the Day from Nottingham pic.twitter.com/bangTdU7lJ
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 20, 2025
'I found my groove as we got to the set-all. I played one bad game in the first set and thought the rest of the match was a high performance from the both of us.
'I felt like the level out there was really good. It's been better than a lot of my matches. Just because I win a match doesn't mean it was my best tennis and just because I lose a match doesn't mean it was my worst tennis.
'I'm allowed to be beaten on the day and I felt like she [McCartney] did that. She's a very good player and I'm positive her ranking will go higher and higher for the rest of the year.
'I played some really good stuff in the second and got unlucky in certain points but I played the game I wanted to play and normally I can and that was some of the best tennis I've played this year.'
Boulter departs the Midlands less than a week away from the LTA's Lexus Eastbourne Open but she has already ruled out competing there.
Instead, Boulter has decided to switch her focus to ensuring that she heads to the lawns of SW19 at her absolute best physically and mentally.
She added: 'I haven't thought too much about it yet but I'm not playing next week. If I was chasing points and rankings I would be but my plan is not to because I want to prioritise Wimbledon and that's something I've never done before and I'd like to try something different.
'The odd match here and there would have been but I don't think that'll make a difference when I step out to Wimbledon. It's now about getting work done in the next week and continuing to work on my physical game.
'It makes a massive difference and something I've never done before so I'd like to try it.
'I've always focused on getting a lot of matches before Wimbledon and getting as much time as I got on the grass and I don't think that's helped me a lot as I ran into Wimbledon on fumes mentally.'
Boulter's battle with Kessler headlined an action-packed programme at Nottingham.
Earlier, Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska was the first player to reach the final four after taking down fifth seed and last year's Eastbourne runner-up Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6 (6).
And sixth seed Magda Linette held off second seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to reach a career-first semi-final on grass.
Linette hardly broke a sweat in the first set but found herself fighting off a ferocious fightback from her opponent, who surged to a 5-2 lead in the second.
The Pole proved herself more than up to the challenge, halting Tauson in her tracks by taking the last five games to advance.
Top seeds Shuai Zhang and Su-Wei Hsieh advanced to the semi-final in women's doubles after defeating Eri Hozumi and Aldila Sutjiadi 6-4 6-3.
They next face fourth seeds Ena Shibahara and Anna Danilina, who eliminated Anastasia Detiuc and Bibiane Schoofs 7-6 (5) 6-3.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
27 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
New Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh ‘relishing challenge' of overhauling Celtic
Gers have won only one top-flight title and three major honours in total since their financial implosion in 2012, with their city rivals dominating the trophy count in that period. However, Cavenagh, fronting an American consortium that took control of the Ibrox club earlier this month, is confident they can bridge the gap in Glasgow and, over time, assert the Light Blues as Scotland's leading force. 'We relish that challenge,' said Cavenagh, facing the media at Ibrox on Monday just hours after an EGM in the city in which their immediate plans were given the all-clear by shareholders. 'We are impatient, we are competitive and so we look forward to the challenge.' At today's General Meeting held today at the DoubleTree Hilton in Glasgow, shareholders voted in favour of all proposed resolutions, to support the club's future growth and investment plans. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) June 23, 2025 Pressed further on the scale of the task Rangers face as they bid to usurp a Celtic side thriving under Brendan Rodgers, Cavenagh said: 'We think it is achievable or we wouldn't be here. We don't think it will be easy. 'It is not going to happen instantaneously but we will strive to improve the on-field performance and we will continue to build the infrastructure of the club. If we didn't think we could win we wouldn't be here. We are here because we think we can. 'There is real work to be done, I think everyone is aware of that. Paraag (Marathe, vice-chairman) and I are two of the least patient people you will meet and we are also incredibly competitive so we share our supporters' sense of urgency. We are in with both feet today and we will move this forward as fast as we can.' Cavenagh – sure-footed and measured throughout his first briefing with Scottish journalists – outlined his aim of establishing Rangers as Champions League regulars. 'Champions League is the goal we are trying to get to every year,' he said. 'It is important because it brings more revenue. It will always be our benchmark. 'It is not as if we are banking on that and if it doesn't happen then there is some sort of a problem. That is not the case at all. But it is our goal. 'As we increase revenue, which comes from the Champions League, then we get to re-invest that in the club. That is why it is the goal from both a sporting perspective and the revenue model perspective.' While the new owners are intent on ensuring financial sustainability, they were given the green light on Monday to get the ball rolling on their revival of the club with a £20million investment. '£20m is the amount of primary capital that we are putting in,' said Cavenagh. 'We have been careful to not say we won't put more in and to not say we will put more in. 'When we think about the amount of capital that is needed, we look at it through three lenses. The first is what impact will it have and we think £20m into the club – and again, we're not being specific about where the £20m is going – we think £20m is the right amount this summer. 'And the other two lenses that we look though are FSR (UEFA's Financial Sustainability Regulations) and making sure we are running the club in a sustainable way. 'We are not looking for what I think of as the sugar high – come in spend some money, sign some players and try to win something and then you have the sugar crash that comes from that.' One of the new owners' first big calls was to appoint Russell Martin as head coach earlier this month. 'There were four criteria that we looked at for head coach,' said Cavenagh. 'One, somebody that would coach what we think is the right style of play or game model. Two, someone who would build the culture and the way we think it needs to be built. 'Three, someone who will develop talent. And four, someone who will win matches. Russell was the standout across all of those metrics, unanimously among our team.'
Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
Osaka earns first grass win of the season with victory over qualifier Danilovic
BAD HOMBURG, Germany, June 23 (Reuters) - Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka fired 16 aces past Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic to earn a 7-6(6) 7-6(4) victory at the Bad Homburg Open on Monday for her first win on grass this season less than a week before the start of Wimbledon. The 27-year-old Japanese player, who had lost in the first round at her last two tournaments -- the French Open and the Berlin Open -- had won her first title in May in almost two years following a maternity break. Osaka, who had reached the third round of the Australian Open in January before retiring injured, has not had back-to-back wins on any surface since the Italian Open in May. She is currently ranked 56th in the world. "It's my first grasscourt win of the year," Osaka said. "I am excited about that. I am super excited to play here and be back for my next round." Asked whether she was on track to improve her form on the surface, she said: "I hope so. I think I have potential but everyone is really good so I cannot take it for granted." The pair held serve to take the first set into a tiebreak where Osaka snatched it on her second set point. Osaka was 40-0 up on her opponent's serve at 2-2 in the second set but she could not bag the first break of either player in the match, with Danilovic holding serve with her eighth ace of the match. Osaka, however, got the mini-break she needed in the tiebreak when she challenged a Danilovic first serve that was then ruled out, with the qualifier then double-faulting. She held on to that slim advantage to earn a spot in the round of 16 where she will face fifth-seed Emma Navarro. Russian eighth-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova also eased into the next round with a 6-1 6-2 win over Swiss Belinda Bencic. Croatia's Donna Vekic made equally light work of sixth seed southpaw Diana Shnaider for a 6-3 6-3 victory. Clara Tauson of Denmark needed to work harder and battle from a set down before snatching a 6-7(6) 6-3 6-3 against Poland's Magdalena Frech.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Raducanu opens up about ‘genuine connection' with old friend Alcaraz
Emma Raducanu says her upcoming mixed doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz is a reflection of the meaningful, friendly connection the pair made as they were rising up the rankings at the start of their careers. 'It is nice and I think, for all of us, we really value those connections that we had from when we were young,' Raducanu said. 'Because when you become a bit more known or a bit more successful, you just find yourself reverting back to people you knew from a young age and because that's a real genuine connection, because it becomes very busy and you have a lot more friends – but the ones that you've known for a long time mean a lot more to you.' Raducanu and Alcaraz, both 22, will compete together in the US Open mixed doubles tournament in August, which has been revamped controversially this year in order to spotlight the top players. The event will be played in a streamlined two-day format during the week before the US Open. Raducanu says they first got to know each other at Wimbledon in 2021 and they forged a friendly connection during their respective breakout runs at the US Open that year. 'I remember he beat Stef [Tsitsipas] in the third round and it was like a big win, his breakout win on a big stage and it was really cool to kind of, I guess, go through that tournament together and then I kept going through the US Open, but we were staying in touch for the whole time. Yeah, it's nice. We have a good relationship still. He's obviously overtaken me a lot, but it's nice that we have that from a while ago.' A few days after their partnership was announced to significant fanfare, Raducanu opted to catch a glimpse of Alcaraz at Queen's Club during his semi-final win against Roberto Bautista Agut, an appearance that generated even more headlines. 'I saw some really cool drop volleys and I was like: 'Yes, let's save some of that!' But he's got plenty of magic to bring to New York. But it was just, I was having the day off on Saturday and I was with my friends and we were like: 'Let's go to Queen's [Club] and watch the tennis,' and then we went out and to the River Cafe in the evening. It was a super nice evening and then I just came here on Sunday.' For the time being, Raducanu has more serious challenges to focus on than a glorified exhibition event. Her solid start to the grass court season at Queen's Club, where she reached the quarter-finals and re-established herself as the British No 1, was soured by further issues with back spasms, which have troubled her on numerous occasions this year. Raducanu withdrew from the Berlin Open last week. 'It's OK,' she said. 'I'm still managing it, to be honest. I have good days and bad days with it. I trained a fair bit last week in London and it was good. I was getting a lot of treatment and then woke up pretty stiff at the weekend, took a day off and then trained yesterday and today, but it needs a lot of work and it is up and down. So I'm just trying to manage it as best as I can.' Raducanu, the No 7 seed, will face Ann Li in the first round at Eastbourne, her final tournament before Wimbledon begins next week. She says she is doing everything she can to ensure that she is in top physical shape and form for her biggest tournament of the year. 'Needles, soft tissue, some muscle stimulation stuff, taping, everything,' Raducanu said. 'It's just ongoing, but it's OK. It seems to be OK today.' The British No 5 Dan Evans battled back from a set down to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of the Lexus Eastbourne Open. The 35-year-old, who has received a wild card for Wimbledon, triumphed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 against the Serbian world No 49. He will face the American second seed Tommy Paul – the 2023 runner-up – in round two. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Evans, ranked 170 in the world, arrived at Devonshire Park having last week celebrated the best grass-court win of his career with victory against the world No 13 Frances Tiafoe in the first round at Queen's Club. 'For whatever time I have left, it's a work in progress,' he told the BBC. 'Me and my coach have been working hard on certain things, like everybody else does, but sometimes it takes time.' In the women's draw, the British No 5 Fran Jones registered a straight-sets victory against the Belgian world No 70 Greet Minnen. The 24-year-old wild-card entrant progressed 6-4, 7-5 in 1hr 48min.
