Nottingham | Boulter breezes into quarter-finals

Britain’s Katie Boulter, the No 3 seed on the Rothesay Open in Nottingham, continued her title defence with an environment friendly 6-4 6-3 win in opposition to Canada’s Rebecca Marino to succeed in the quarter-finals, whereas Heather Watson, the British No 5, fell to former World No 1 Karolina Pliskova, 6-4 6-4, on Wednesday.

Plenty of it was about staying sharp, going with the movement and serving effectively – it was a battle. I’ve some childhood recollections right here, so I all the time get that heat fuzzy feeling each time I come out right here. Katie Boulter

Boulter’s dream of a second successive title at her residence occasion continues to be firmly alive because the British No 1 breezed previous the qualifier in 74 minutes.

It was her title run right here in Nottingham final yr that kick-started a formidable yr for the 27-year-old, who since has risen to No 30 on this planet.

“Simply being again the place it began jogs my memory how far I’ve come, and I simply hold working exhausting every single day and see what occurs,” mentioned Boulter, who’s from close by Leicester, after her win.

It was a comparatively straight ahead match for the British No 1, who transformed 4 of her 5 break possibilities whereas profiting from 7 double-faults by Marino.

“Plenty of it was about staying sharp, going with the movement and serving effectively – it was a battle,” Boulter mentioned. “I’ve some childhood recollections right here, so I all the time get that heat fuzzy feeling each time I come out right here.”

Dealing with a special kind of problem to her 1st-round scrap in opposition to fellow Brit Harriet Dart that would have gone both approach, Boulter appeared absolutely accountable for this contest as she sped off to a set and 3-0 lead in little or no time.

Though Marino managed to salvage one of many two breaks of serve, Boulter shrugged off the frustration and misplaced simply 2 extra factors on her serve the remainder of the way in which to the end line.

Within the quarters, she’s going to play the winner of the match between fifth seed Magdalena Frech from Poland and final week’s Lexus Surbiton Trophy runner-up, Tatjana Maria from Germany.

© Nathan Stirk/Getty Photos for LTA

Final yr’s Nottingham semi-finalist, Heather Watson, bowed out within the Final 16 to the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up and the sixth seed, Karolina Pliskova, who gained the title right here in 2016.

Watson bounced again from a set and a break down to steer 4-2 within the second, earlier than the 32-year outdated Czech reeled off 4 consecutive video games to clinch her place within the quarter-finals.

“I’m out right here having fun with myself on the Nottingham courts, and I don’t take that with no consideration,” Watson mentioned forward of her match, having acquired a wild-card into the draw. “It’ll take a while to be at my greatest, I’m sensible with that, it’s about getting some momentum and attending to the final weeks of the grass courtroom season, and enjoying my greatest stuff there.

“However I wouldn’t thoughts enjoying my greatest stuff right here both. I’ll take it one match at a time and see how we go.”

Watson nonetheless has matches to play in Nottingham, having reached the quarter-finals within the doubles together with her accomplice Ena Shibahara from Japan, because the No 4 seeds beat the all-British wild-carded pair of Sara Beth Gray & Tara Moore, 6-3 6-4, within the 1st-round.

Qualifier Kimberly Birrell defeated Lucrezia Stefanini to succeed in the quarters in Nottingham

© Tom Dulat/Getty Photos for LTA

Elsewhere, Australia’s Kimberly Birrell was a 6-4 6-7(5) 6-0 winner in opposition to Italy’s Lucrezia Stefanini, and can meet Diane Parry within the Final 8, after the Frenchwoman defeated one other Aussie, Daria Saville, 6-4 6-1, to succeed in her 1st grass courtroom quarter-final.

The remaining Final 16 matches might be performed on Thursday, when Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Fran Jones, each wild-cards into the primary draw, and high seed Ons Jabeur from Tunisia are in motion amongst these in search of quarter-final spots.