Raducanu edges ahead before bad light halts all-British semi-final

English Woman's Journal - Raducanu edges ahead before bad light halts all-British semi-final

SPORTS 15.06.2024

Raducanu edges ahead before bad light halts all-British semi-final / Photo: CLIVE BRUNSKILL - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu won a marathon tie-break to edge ahead of Katie Boulter in an all-British semi-final at the Nottingham Open before bad light halted play on Saturday.

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The pair spent most of the day waiting for rain to clear before the match started soon after 6:30 pm local time (1730 GMT).

But only one set was possible before darkness, rather than a downpour, saw the match held over until Sunday.

Raducanu, in her first semi-final since stunning the tennis world by becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title at the 2021 US Open, won it 7-6 but only after taking a protracted tie-break by 15 points to 13 against defending champion Boulter.

The 21-year-old Raducanu was set to face Fran Jones on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the grass-court tournament -- a warm-up event for Wimbledon, which begins on July 1.

But her fellow Briton withdrew because of a shoulder injury.

Earlier in the day, Karolina Pliskova advanced into the semi-finals after defeating Tunisian top-seed Ons Jabeur, a fellow former Wimbledon finalist, 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 7-5 in a hard-fought contest.

The Czech will take on France's Diane Parry in the second semi-final on Sunday with the Nottingham final scheduled for later that same day.

M.Stevenson--EWJ

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