Sunday, December 22, 2024

Nottingham Open: Emma Raducanu to face Katie Boulter in semi-finals

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Emma Raducanu will play fellow Briton Katie Boulter in her first WTA semi-final since 2022 after opponent Fran Jones withdrew from their last-eight match in the Nottingham Open.

Jones, 23, another Briton, was scheduled to face Raducanu on Saturday in a match carried over from Friday because of rain, but was forced to pull out with a shoulder injury.

“Hopefully everyone can understand that with the big events coming up, I’m not in a position to be taking many risks,” said Jones, with Wimbledon due to start on 1 July.

British number one Boulter, 27, who is the defending champion, reached the semi-finals with a two-set win over Poland’s fifth seed Magdalena Frech on Friday.

Former US Open winner Raducanu, 21, missed the French Open to concentrate on her fitness before Wimbledon as she continues her comeback from injury.

She has beaten Ena Shibahara and Daria Snigur in her run to the last eight in Nottingham.

The start of Saturday’s play was delayed because of bad weather but resumed at 14:30 BST with the quarter-final between Tunisian top seed Ons Jabeur and the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova first up on centre court.

Raducanu and Boulter’s semi-final will follow, while unseeded pair Diane Parry, from France, and Australia’s Kimberly Birrell are contesting the final match of the last eight on court one.

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