It was an intense but satisfying week spent by Katie Boulter in Nottingham. The rain put a strain on the nerves of all the players competing at the Rothesay Open. Just think of the fact that today the protagonists of the final stages of the tournament had to face a double commitment.
The British completed the comeback against her compatriot Emma Raducanu and then defended the title by overcoming in the last act of the WTA 250 event Karolina Pliskova with the score 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Wta Nottingham – Boulter beats Pliskova and defends the title.
Samsonova triumphs in ‘s-Hertogenbosch
Boulter started well and broke her rival in the game that opened the match. Something, however, started to crack at 3-4: the 27-year-old gave up the serve twice in a row and allowed a smart Pliskova to take the lead to 1-0.
The music changed in the second set, because Boulter raised his serve performance again and attributed enormous weight to the break scored at 1-1. In the third half of the game, the British sent a clear message by quickly gaining the 5-1 lead and putting too large a distance between herself and her opponent.
Even that of Liudmila Samsonova it turned out to be a beautiful day. The Russian managed not to think about the wasted match points yesterday afternoon and returned to the court with the right mentality in the second part of the complicated semi-final with Ekaterina Alexandrova.
He did the same in the final which ended in a comeback 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 against Bianca Andreescu, returning at this stage of a tournament two years later. Samsonova added the fifth title of her career, the second on grass.
Down one set, the 25-year-old took a 3-0 lead in the second set and stopped the Canadian just a few moments after the heavy counter break. The decisive set was a real battle, which Samsonova took home in the photo finish thanks to the excellent return game played at 5-5.
