What a difference the clay makes.
Less than a month after the French Open became the first grand slam since 2009 to begin without a British woman in the draw, Katie Boulter completed a dream week for the home nation on the grass courts of the Nottingham Open, defeating Jodie Burrage 6-3, 6-3 to win the first all-British WTA final since 1977.
Neither player had previously made a tour-level final, and to do so Boulter had to go through another compatriot, Heather Watson, in what was the first tour-level semi-final to be contested between two British women since 1975. After plumbing the depths in Paris, the domestic contingent have shown that the grass is decidedly greener on the other side of the Channel.
“I’m so proud of the girls this week we’ve all done tremendously well,” said Boulter, doubling down on her insistence earlier in the week that British tennis does not want for depth.
With Andy Murray earlier winning a second ATP Challenger event in as many weeks on the same court, and Wimbledon only a fortnight away, the Britpack would indeed seem to be gathering momentum at just the right moment.
Boulter’s victory, which comes just a week after she overtook the injured Emma Raducanu in the rankings to become British No 1 for the first time, feels especially timely. Six weeks ago, when Raducanu dropped out of the top 100 as she began her recovery from wrist and ankle surgeries, it left Britain without an elite-level player for the first time since 2008. But after successfully negotiating a contest in which a first tour-level title and the British No 1 ranking were up for grabs for both players, Boulter will rise to a career-high ranking of 77. A wild card in Nottingham, the 26-year-old will not need one for Wimbledon.
“I’m feeling everything, probably more emotional than anything else,” said Boulter, who was born in Leicester and recalled in her winner’s speech how she used to train at the Nottingham Tennis Centre as a young girl.
“I put my heart on the line this week. I’ve always dreamt of winning this tournament, so for me it was a dream come true.
“My work is not done yet, I’ve got a lot more work to do. I’m really proud that I’ve had a great week, but I’m going to be back on the practice court very soon.”
While Boulter walks away with the spoils as only the second player in two decades to win a WTA title without facing a player ranked in the top 130, Burrage’s week has been barely less impressive. After seeing off the Czech Republic’s Tereza Martincova in a third set-set tiebreak in round one, the 24-year-old went on to beat a trio of players ranked in the top 100, including Magda Linette, the third seed, and former Australian Open quarter-finalist Alizé Cornet.
“A bit gutted today,” said Burrage, the world No 131, in her on-court interview. “Tough, tough match that, Boults played absolutely incredibly, didn’t let me play at all, so credit to her.
“But for me, this has been such a positive week. I’ve beaten some really good players this week, proved to myself a lot of things, so I’m only going to take the positives.
“I’ll take positives from this, take confidence from it, and hopefully play some good tennis in the upcoming months.”
The first signs that a testing afternoon lay ahead for Burrage came as early as the opening game, where Boulter rifled a backhand return winner before sealing a break with a delicate half-volley.
Further woe followed for Burrage when she miscued an approach shot before double-faulting to hand Boulter a 4-1 lead. As Boulter backed up her heavy serve with fearless returning, Burrage struggled on her second serve, failing to win a point behind it in the first set.
“I just believe in myself and just keep swinging,” said Boulter. “I think the biggest thing for me was just to have a go and, even if I lose the match, then I’m still swinging, still going for it. That’s the player that I am, aggressive.”
It is a quality she showed in defeating former Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova at the All England Club last summer, and Boulter maintained her front-foot approach in the second set, ending the afternoon with 21 winners, more than twice as many as Burrage.
At the Libéma Open in Rosmalen, defending champion Ekaterina Alexandrova prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) against top seed Veronika Kudermetova to win the longest women’s final of the year.
“After such a difficult match it’s such a pleasant feeling, I cannot even describe it,” said Alexandrova, who trailed a match of multiple rain delays by a set and a break before recovering to win in two hours and 52 minutes.