Emma Raducanu draws first blood in Nottingham battle with Katie Boulter

Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter will resume their Nottingham Open semi-final on Sunday after bad light disrupted an enthralling battle of Britain on Saturday night.

The pair spent most of the day waiting to get on court after rain caused havoc with the schedule, but after finally getting started just after 6.30pm they could manage only one set before darkness set in.

It was Raducanu who edged in front via a marathon tie-break, winning 7-6 (13) in 79 minutes, to leave her one set away from a first final since her 2021 US Open triumph.

The 21-year-old went toe-to-toe with Boulter, who is the defending champion at her home tournament and in the top 30 of the world rankings. Both saved break points in the middle of the opening set and it soon became apparent it would be decided by a tie-break. No one could have predicted just how tense the decider would be, though.

It looked bad for Raducanu as at 3-1 down she slipped and jarred her left knee, initially calling for the physio. However, she stood down the medical attention and went on to win the next three points. It swung both ways in an enthralling 10-minute period where both players wasted set points. Raducanu eventually took her sixth as she punished Boulter’s second serve to finish at the net.

The referee, Jane Harvet, immediately came on to court and play was suspended because of bad light. That means both semi-finals and the final of the tournament will be decided on Sunday.

Karolina Pliskova, the 2016 champion, and Diane Parry did not even get on court as both were in quarter-final action earlier in the day. Pliskova beat top the seed, Ons Jabeur, 7-6 (8), 6-7 (3), 7-5, while Parry overcame Kimberly Birrell 6-3 7-6 (4).

Boulter was lucky enough to have got her quarter-final win in the books on Friday while Raducanu had a stroke of fortune on Saturday morning as her last-eight opponent, Fran Jones, withdrew because of a shoulder injury. That gave Raducanu a first semi-final since September 2022.

Jones was on court on Friday afternoon ready to play Raducanu before rain forced play to be abandoned for the day and she woke up on Saturday and chose to withdraw.

Jones said: “Unfortunately today I’ve had to withdraw from what was an exciting match with Emma. Hopefully everyone can understand that with the big events coming up, I’m not in a position to be taking many risks especially with my last couple of years.

“I think it’s a massive shame, I’ve really enjoyed playing this week and I’ve played at a good level, but I need to continue to think big picture which has got me into the place I’m in so far this year.”

The incoming British men’s No 1, Jack Draper, is one win away from his first ATP Tour title after making the final of the Stuttgart Open. The 22-year-old, who will replace Cameron Norrie as the country’s highest-ranked player on Monday, beat the American Brandon Nakashima in straight sets in their semi-final in Germany.

Draper followed up his quarter‑final win over the defending champion, the American Frances Tiafoe, with a 6-3, 6-3 victory to reach his third tour-level final. Whatever happens in Sunday’s match against Matteo Berrettini he will rise to a career-high ranking of 32, which is the cut-off point to earn a seeding at Wimbledon.

He was in total control against Nakashima, forcing break point in the opening game, and never took his foot off the gas with two breaks of serve in the first set.

A single break was enough to get the job done in the second set as he earned a spot in his second final of the year after also reaching a showpiece match in Adelaide.

On facing Draper for the first time, Berrettini told the BBC: “We never even practised together so I hope my coach has studied him well. He has been serving brilliantly, so it is going to be a match of serving tomorrow. Good luck to Jack but I will try to beat him.”