\n<\/p>\n
Venue:<\/strong> Nottingham Tennis Centre<\/span> Dates:<\/strong> 12-18 June<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n| Coverage:<\/strong> Live coverage daily on the BBC Red Button, BBC Sport website & app.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | Katie Boulter beat fellow Briton Heather Watson to reach the Nottingham Open final – her first WTA final.<\/span><\/p>\n British number one Boulter won 6-4 7-5 in a rain-affected semi-final at the Nottingham Tennis Centre on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n It could be an all-British final as <\/span>Jodie Burrage<\/strong> plays France’s <\/span>Alize Cornet<\/strong> in the second semi-final.<\/span><\/p>\n In the men’s competition, <\/span>Andy Murray<\/strong> is looking to win back-to-back grass-court tournaments and faces Portugal’s <\/span>Nuno Borges<\/strong> in the semi-final.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’ve worked so hard for this and I’m just going to keep plugging away,” said 26-year-old Boulter. “Even if it’s not my time, it’s been a great week for me and I will keep working hard.<\/span><\/p>\n “It means so much to me, especially here. It was a really tough match and I just tried to put my heart on the line and managed to get through in the end.<\/span><\/p>\n “She [Watson] is an incredible player and I knew it would be a battle. I have so much time for her, she is an amazing girl.”<\/span><\/p>\n It has been a fantastic tournament for the British players with four women reaching the quarter-finals, the first time this has happened in the 50-year history of the WTA.<\/span><\/p>\n This was the first all-British WTA semi-final since Sue Barker beat Virginia Wade in Boston, USA in March 1979.<\/span><\/p>\n Watson, 31, has won four WTA titles in her career but none of them on grass and none of them in the United Kingdom, with her last WTA title being at the Mexican Open in February 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n Boulter could not take a break-point chance in the opening game of the match, but did then break Watson’s serve in the fifth game in the last point before a 90-minute rain delay. <\/span><\/p>\n When play resumed, Watson immediately got the first set back on serve, only for Boulter, impressing with her powerful forehand shots, to regain the advantage in the ninth game before serving out the set. <\/span><\/p>\n Watson led 3-0 in the second set, but Boulter fought back to win seven of the next nine games to move into the final.<\/span><\/p>\n Boulter became British number one <\/span>for the first time earlier this week,<\/span><\/a> replacing the injured Emma Raducanu, and will retain her position when the rankings are updated on Monday, unless Burrage wins the title.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n |