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Boulter completes title defence in Nottingham

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5 months ago

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Boulter completes title defence in Nottingham

“I’m not entirely sure if I’m dreaming,” said the elated world No 30.

“It’s incredible to be here. [Nottingham] has a special place in my heart and it always will. It’s been an incredible week for me, mentally tough after a really hard clay court season, thanks to my team, they are incredible and I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Pliskova, playing her 34th career final, found herself on top after a stellar opening set, but she could not hold off Boulter in sets two and three.

Beneath sunny skies in Nottingham, Boulter commenced the comeback with a spotless second set. She never faced a break point and converted both of her opportunities to force a decider.

In the third set the Brit broke two more times before Pliskova attempted to reel her back with a break for 5-2, but Boulter answered right back with a third break, converting her second championship point to close the contest in just under two hours.

De Minaur: Katie, you’re a joke

For the second time this season, Boulter has won a title several hours after her boyfriend Alex de Minaur. In February, when De Minaur defended his Acapulco title, the Aussie flew to San Diego to watch Boulter win the her second career title.

On Sunday De Minaur took home the ‘s-Hertogenbosch title, defeating Sebastian Korda for the title. He wasn’t able to get to Nottingham to witness Boulter’s heroics in person, however.

“My boyfriend didn’t make the trip, even though I thought he might after his win in ‘s-Hertogenbosch,” Boulter said with a laugh. “Yeah we’ll have to be talking about that tonight, and see if we are going to be still together – I hope he’s listening to this because we have some talking to do.”

For his part, De Minaur did take to X to show support for Boulter.

In the previous rounds of the Nottingham tournament, Boulter, ranked No 30, defeated Harriet Dart (6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5), Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino (6-4, 6-3), Pole Magdalena Frech, the No 5 seed (6-2, 6-4) and wildcard Emma Raducanu (6-7 (13), 6-3, 6-4).

Pliskova, ranked No 50, beat American Alycia Parks (6-4, 6-4), wildcard Heather Watson (6-4, 6-4), Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the top seed (7-6 (8), 6-7 (3), 7-5) and Frenchwoman Diane Parry (6-7 (9), 6-1, 6-4) earlier in the tournament.

Boulter’s 16th career win in Nottingham ties her with Johanna Konta for the all-time tournament lead. She improves to 3-0 lifetime against Pliskova on grass, and 3-2 overall against the Czech.

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