Katie Boulter’s reign as the queen of Nottingham is over after she lost in the quarter-finals to McCartney Kessler.
Boulter, fiancee of Australia’s top-ranked men’s tennis player Alex de Minaur, was gunning for a third successive Nottingham Open crown, having won in 2023 and 2024, but came unstuck against the world No.42 with victory in sight.
The British No.2 was leading 4-3 with a break of serve in the final set, but lost the last three games to her American opponent, including her serve twice, to go down 6-3 3-6 6-4.
That saw her 12-match winning run on her home court come to an end.
“It was a really tight match, it was close,” Kessler said.
“I wanted to stay within myself and keep playing my game, and luckily I came out on top.
“We are both aggressive players, so there was a lot of shot-making.
“I am trying to get as many titles as I can and put myself in the position to win titles. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
She will play Rebecca Sramkova in the semi-finals.
Dayana Yastremska will play Magda Linette in the other semi-final.
Ukrainian Yastremska beat former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in the quarter-final.
Linette downed top seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to book her spot in the last four.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au