Katie Boulter won two matches on a “brutal” day to successfully defend her title at the Rothesay Nottingham Open.
The British No 1 and world No 30 came from a set down to beat Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final — having earlier overcome an overnight one-set deficit to defeat her compatriot Emma Raducanu in a marathon semi-final.
Boulter broke Pliskova’s serve for the third time in the final set to lift the trophy at her home tournament, a short drive from her home town of Woodhouse Eaves near Loughborough.
She threw her head back in a mixture of exhaustion and elation when Pliskova, the world No 50, could only hit Boulter’s deep backhand service return into the net. For the second time