Katie Boulter savours 'incredible' win over Karolina Pliskova to retain Nottingham title ahead of Wimbledon tilt
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ByEurosport
Updated 16/06/2024 at 21:49 GMT
Two former Nottingham Open winners faced off in Sunday's final, as 2016 winner Karolina Pliskova battled last year's champion, Katie Boulter. British No. 1 Boulter battled back from a set down against the Czech former world No. 1 to win the tournament for the second consecutive year, as the 27-year-old builds towards this summer's grass Grand Slam at Wimbledon.
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Katie Boulter beat Karolina Pliskova 4-6 6-3 6-2 to retain the Nottingham Open title on Sunday evening.
Boulter came into the match just three hours after her drawn-out, rain-hit three-set win over Emma Raducanu, which finished almost 24 hours after it started.
The 27-year-old Briton started well as she broke her Czech opponent - the 2016 champion - in the first game as she struggled with foot faults.
Boulter, the defending champion, held her serve to go two clear, but Pliskova held her nerve to keep in touch as she trailed 3-2.
The home favourite held to 15 in the following game to inch towards claiming the first set, but a double fault from Boulter allowed Pliskova to break back and level at 4-4.
A great backhand down the line in the next game allowed Pliskova to hold, and the pressure was suddenly on Boulter, who needed to serve to stay in the set.
The challenge was beyond her, and she was quickly 40-down as she sent a return into the net, and gave up three break points before going down 6-4.
Boulter broke early in the second to go 2-1 up, and the set went with serve again until a powerful shot saw Pliskova broken for a second time, and Boulter’s 6-3 second-set triumph led to a third-set decider.
Another double fault cost Pliskova early in that third set as she went down a break, and a further break left Boulter serving to retain her title.
Pliskova gave herself a sliver of hope by breaking back for 5-2 behind, but a dramatic final game saw Boulter stand firm. She failed to convert her first championship point before sealing the title at the second time of asking.
Speaking after her win, Boulter was pleased to enjoy success now she was back on grass after recent struggles.
She said on court: “This is a bit of deja vu. I’m not entirely sure if I’m dreaming or if this just happened. It’s incredible to be here. This place will always have a special place in my heart. I don’t have much voice left. But I’ll try to talk as much as I can.
"It’s been an incredible week for me. Mentally tough after a hard clay season. Massive thank you to my team. I can’t have been easy during the clay-court swing.
"But I’m just really happy with the way this year's gone so far. I’ve been working really hard with my team.”
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