Jodie Burrage keeps focus on matchplay to reach Nottingham quarter-final

By Oli Dickson Jefford, Sportsbeat

Jodie Burrage kept the achievements of opponent Magda Linette out of her mind as she stunned the Pole to reach her first WTA quarter-final at the LTA’s Rothesay Open Nottingham.

Burrage, who is on the LTA’s Pro Scholarship Programme, is ranked 110 spots below world No.21 Linette in the WTA Rankings, with the third seed having reached the semi-final of this year’s Australian Open.

But it was Kingston’s Burrage who largely dictated proceedings at the Nottingham Tennis Centre, edging a tight first set before sealing a 7-5 6-3 victory on Thursday afternoon.

It was a vastly different match to the 24-year-old’s opening contest against Tereza Martincova, which was a scrappy affair lasting three hours, and Burrage was thrilled to produce a more positive display.

“That’s why it’s so good to get through those matches I had on Tuesday because I felt so much more comfortable today, and I trusted myself so much more,” said Burrage.

“I was at a different level I feel today - it’s still not my best, there’s still room for improvement, but I’m just getting more confidence in myself match by match and I’m really proud I managed to close that out in two today.

“As I’m closing that match out, it’s just another opponent. She’s such a good player and she’s really tough to beat, so I’m really happy I managed to keep my foot on the gas and get that done.”

Burrage’s victory means that history has been made at the tournament, with it being the first time ever that four British women have made the quarter-final of any WTA tournament.

Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart set up an all-British quarter-final with their respective victories on Thursday, while Heather Watson had won her second round on Wednesday.

And Burrage, who faces another Pole in the form of Magdalena Frech next, believes that grass court advantage is playing a huge role in the British success.

She added: “It just shows how far we are coming and how much we love the grass.

“It’s amazing to have four British women in a home tournament quarter-final. Hopefully more of us can get to the semi-finals, and we’ll see what happens.”

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