Boulter beats the weather to reach Nottingham semis

By Paul Eddison, Sportsbeat

Katie Boulter beat the weather and Magdalena Frech as she continued her defence of the LTA’s Rothesay Open in Nottingham by booking her place in the semi-finals.

It will be an all-British affair in the last four, with Boulter taking on the winner of the match between Emma Raducanu and Fran Jones.

Their match was delayed by rain, while Boulter also had to deal with one rain delay, and she was thrilled to be able to close out a 6-2 6-4 win over her Polish opponent in time to avoid a second.

“I was straight up panicking (at the end), I was thinking I can’t do it again,” she said.

“My heart race must have been the highest it was in the whole match in that final game trying to serve it out and seeing that rain cloud coming. I saw it creeping closer and closer as the time was passing. I was going to make sure that I got it done there and then, for sure.

“During the rain delay it was more about relaxing, switching off. In the last few weeks, I’ve been used to a bit of rain. I’m quite used to relaxing and chilling out. I wanted to make sure the lead that I’d started off with, I didn’t let it slip.

“I like to sit and relax. I was watching my boyfriend (Australia’s Alex de Minaur) play. He was playing so I could relax watching that. It keeps my mind off things.

“I'm slowly building some momentum and I’m very pleased to be through. I think I did a lot right, especially in the first set. I played some of the best tennis I’ve played on a grass court so far. But mainly I’m just happy to be through, fighting another day, and building some momentum, getting closer and closer to the end of the grass court swing.”

Boulter is enjoying the best season of her career, sitting as the British No.1 and up to 30th in the world.

And having triumphed in Nottingham this time last year, she is loving being back on the grass, having lost in the first round of the French Open last month.

She added: “I am having fun, I always enjoy the grass court swing. After a tough clay court swing, I'm glad to be back on a surface I enjoy. There are a lot of weeks to go and I'm just looking forward to competing every week and doing my best.”

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website