Nick Kyrgios has pulled out of this week’s ATP tournament in Germany citing ongoing knee issues but is hopeful of being fit for Wimbledon.

The Australian played his first tournament since October in Stuttgart last week after undergoing surgery on his left knee in January.

But he complained afterwards about feeling inhibited during a first-round loss to China’s Wu Yibing and has made the decision not to play in Halle.

“Very unfortunate news that I won’t be able to compete at Halle this year,” Kyrgios said in a video on the tournament’s Twitter feed.

“I’m still dealing with a couple of things in my knee, just trying to give myself the best opportunity to compete at Wimbledon. As you all know, that tournament means a lot to me and I just want to do everything right by my body.

“I didn’t want to go out there and not give you the same performance I gave last year. So hopefully next year I’ll be healthy enough to play.”

Kyrgios enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022, with the highlight a run to his first grand slam singles final at Wimbledon, where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic.

When the 28-year-old announced he would need to go under the knife on the eve of the Australian Open, it was hoped he would only be out for a matter of weeks and the fact he is still experiencing problems is a real cause for concern.

After losing in Stuttgart, Kyrgios wrote on Twitter: “Be patient with me my fans please…. It’s a process to get back to where I was. I know it’s hard for you to see me perform like today, but I need more time and hopefully can get back to where I was.”

British wild card Ryan Peniston sprung another surprise at the cinch Championships – and gave Andy Murray a Wimbledon boost – with a straight-sets win over Ugo Humbert.

Essex lad Peniston, currently ranked a lowly 265, shocked top seed and world number five Casper Ruud at Queen’s Club last year on his way to the quarter-finals.

The 27-year-old found the grass of west London to his liking again as he secured a place in the second round, and a potential meeting with second-seed Holger Rune, with an impressive 6-4 6-2 victory.

“I loved playing her last year, so to come back, it feels pretty comfortable to be on the court. It’s just amazing,” said Peniston.

“I was nervous – I was more nervous last year. But once you get going it is a lot of fun out there.”

World number 37 Humbert is one of the players Murray needs to overtake in the rankings if he is to be seeded at Wimbledon next month, so his early exit will only help the Scot’s cause.

A place in the quarter-finals at Queen’s might be enough to place the two-time champion back in the top 32, meaning he can avoid drawing one of the big names in the early rounds at SW19.

Murray, on a 10-match winning streak on the grass, faces Australian world number 18 Alex de Minaur in the first round on Tuesday.

Andy Murray’s victory at Nottingham took him to his highest singles ranking in over five years and raised hopes of a Wimbledon seeding.

When Murray was ranked 839th in the world in July 2018 as he recovered from his first hip surgery, challenging at grand slams again seemed a forlorn hope but he has fought back into the world’s top 40.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the Scot’s road back.

Ranking history

Back-to-back titles at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy and the Rothesay Open Nottingham have lifted Murray to 38th in the ATP world rankings.

That is his best position since he was listed 34th in the April 23, 2018 update, with a turbulent period in between as Murray battled his hip problems.

He had dropped out of the top 100 by June of that year and to a career low of 839 in the July 16, 2018 edition of the rankings.

He remained outside the top 200 until October 2019 and though he climbed to 102 in July 2021, he ended that year ranked 134th and did not re-enter the top 100 until February 7, 2022 when we was 95th.

He made the top 50 briefly last June and for most of the year from August onwards. After dipping back as low as 70 in February, he has now spent five straight weeks in the top 50 since the May 8 update.

Tournament wins

Murray’s only tournament win on the main ATP Tour since his surgeries came at the 2019 European Open in Antwerp.

That came via an impressive win over fellow three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the final, while his semi-final opponent Ugo Humbert would go on to win the event the following year.

He reached further finals in Sydney and Stuttgart last year and Doha this February, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.

His grass-court wins in Surbiton and Nottingham made it three titles for him on this year’s ATP Challenger Tour, having also won on the clay of Aix-en-Provence in May.

Queen’s record

Murray now takes his form to the biggest grass-court tournament outside of Wimbledon, knowing a deep run in the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club could earn him a spot among the 32 seeds at SW19.

His past record there offers plenty of encouragement, with a record five titles to his name.

He won the event ahead of his two Wimbledon triumphs in 2013 and 2016 as well as in 2009, 2011 and 2015 to stand alone as Queen’s Club’s most successful player.

He will need to reach at least the quarter-finals this year to have a chance of being seeded at Wimbledon and the less-encouraging omen is his somewhat boom-and-bust record – outside of his five wins he has reached just one other quarter-final, which he lost to Andy Roddick in 2008.

Murray has lost in the last 16 four times – most recently two years ago against Matteo Berrettini – and the last 32 three times with a solitary last-64 exit back in 2006.

Andy Murray knows what he needs to do at Queen’s this week in order to achieve a seeded ranking for Wimbledon.

Murray returns to his favourite stomping ground, where he is a five-time champion, on the back of successive titles on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The 36-year-old’s success in Nottingham took him up to 38 in the world – his highest ranking since his hip operation – and a run to the last four at Queen’s would be enough to take him into the top 32 and guarantee a seeding at SW19.

It will not be easy for Murray, though, as the class in opposition will be a step up from the second tier, beginning with his first-round match with world number 18 Alex de Minaur on Tuesday.

“When I made the decision to come and play Nottingham rather than the 250s (ATP Tour tournaments), I was at least going to have to win here and maybe make the semis at Queen’s as well because I did well last year and I have given myself a chance,” said Murray, who is defending ranking points from his run to the final at Stuttgart this time last year.

“I pretty much know what I have to do, and if I make the semis at Queen’s I will definitely make seeding and maybe the quarters may be enough.”

Murray’s double success at Surbiton and Nottingham has seen him play 10 matches in 14 days, a big physical test for him considering he is playing with a metal hip.

The two-time Wimbledon champion will have a light day on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s match-up with Australian De Minaur, whose girlfriend Katie Boulter also won in Nottingham on Sunday.

“It has been tough, I found Sunday’s match hard, two quite late finishes and then a big change by playing at 11am, a completely different preparation,” Murray added.

“But I am going completely match tight, I make sure I do all the right recovery stuff. I will treat Monday as a day off and get ready for Tuesday.

“He (De Minaur) loves playing on the grass, a lot of the Aussies do. It is not going to be easy, he makes you work very hard and is quick around the court. He is a very good returner.”

On this day in 2016, Andy Murray won a record fifth Aegon Championships title at Queen’s Club with victory over Milos Raonic.

Although he lost the first set and was 3-0 down in the second, Murray pulled off a great fightback to secure a 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-3 victory over the world number nine.

Victory also ensured his success was unparalleled at Queen’s with a record fifth title, moving him ahead of four-time winners including Roy Emerson, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, and John McEnroe.

“It’s a tournament that obviously means a lot to me,” Murray said afterwards.

“It’s been my most successful tournament by far, clearly. To be the first player to win five times is… it’s not an easy tournament to win.

“It always has a great field and the players I have beaten in the finals, a lot of times have been top players. It’s not like I have had easy finals.

“They have been top, top players, most of them top 10, some of them grand slam winners, grand slam finalists. That’s good.”

The win put the Scot in good stead ahead of preparations for Wimbledon, which was set to begin just eight days later.

Both players met again in the final as Murray won 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) to become Wimbledon champion for a second time.

Defending champion Matteo Berrettini has withdrawn from next week’s cinch Championships at Queen’s due to an abdominal injury.

The 27-year-old Italian missed the clay court season due to a stomach muscle tear and lost 6-1 6-2 to Lorenzo Sonego last week on his return to action in Stuttgart.

Berrettini joined an elite group of players last summer when beating Filip Krajinovic in the cinch Championships final to become one of eight players in the open era to successfully retain the Queen’s Club crown.

The world number 21 was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2021 – he withdrew last year after testing positive for Covid – and it remains to be seen if the Italian will be fit enough to compete at SW19 next month.

Top seed and world number two Carlos Alcaraz will make his debut at Queen’s and faces qualifier Arthur Fils in the opening round.

Alcaraz, 20, has limited experience on grass and will be hoping for an extended run in his bid to improve on his best result on the surface, which was in reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.

Unseeded record five-time champion Andy Murray faces a tough opening match against Australian world number 18 Alex de Minaur.

The 36-year-old Scot heads to Queen’s in fine fettle after back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles on grass at Surbiton and Nottingham as he continues his build-up to Wimbledon.

British number one Cameron Norrie, Wimbledon semi-finalist last year and the fifth seed at Queen’s, will play Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round.

Second seed  Holger Rune, beaten by Norway’s Casper Ruud in the French Open quarter-finals, will bid to win his first tour-level match on grass when he faces American Maxime Cressy.

American third seed Taylor Fritz, a two-time title-winner on grass after victories at Eastbourne in 2019 and 2022, will play Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round.

Katie Boulter reflected on a “special” moment as she won her first WTA Tour title at her home tournament in Nottingham.

Boulter beat Jodie Burrage 6-3 6-3 in the first all-British final at this level since 1977 to cement her position as British number one and surge up to a career-high 77 in the rankings.

The 26-year-old has travelled from her Leicestershire home to the Nottingham tennis centre since she was four years old, so to win here makes it extra special.

“I actually found some photos of me at the beginning of the week where I was training here as a ‘tiny topper’ and I looked so happy and like I was having the time of my life,” she said.

“I tried to remind myself before the final that that little girl still loves playing tennis and just enjoys every single moment she is out on court. I am very proud of myself to be in that position, whatever happened.

“I have so many special feelings, I am staying at home, mum’s cooking makes all the difference. It does feel very special because it is my home tournament.

“I dreamed of this moment, to win this tournament, as a little girl when I was four years old.

“Having come here as a fan and now as a player and somehow finding a way to win it means more than everything to me.”

Victory completed a British double as Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event.

Despite defeat, it was also a breakout week for Burrage in reaching her first final, and with three Britons making the last four, it was a strong response to criticism for the lack of British women in the French Open singles last month.

Indeed, it is their best showing in a tournament since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the women’s game in the 1970s.

And Boulter, who said she will celebrate with a meal out at the pub, hopes this can be just the beginning for her.

“I’m at a career high and really happy but not content and have a long way to go,” she said. “My aim is not to be top 100, it’s to be 50, 40, 30 and ever since I broke through the first time I believed I had the game to become that player and that will always be my main focus.

“Hopefully I can find some consistency and make this week in, week out. My challenge is to find consistency and I’m proud to have brought that every week.

“I played lights-out today and went for the title, wanted that trophy, and told myself I had to back myself to win it.

“I will be sleeping with my trophy tonight and it’s nice to have some reward that I can look back on. Next week will be about resetting and I will be ready for Birmingham – that’s my job.”

Burrage has had some long matches this week and after a recent injury said she was “hanging by a thread” physically, but she is also taking the positives.

“A bit gutted today, a tough, tough match, Boults played absolutely incredibly so credit to her, for me this has been such a positive week,” she said.

“I have beaten some really good players, proved some things to myself, so I will only take the positives.

“I will take positives from this and confidence from it and hopefully play some good tennis in the coming months.”

Andy Murray was given the best Father’s Day present after being surprised by his children following his title win at the Rothesay Nottingham Open.

Murray continued his excellent preparation for Wimbledon with a second successive title as he beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the Challenger Tour event to make it 10 wins in a row after also triumphing at Surbiton last week.

The former world number one was hoping to make a quick dash down the M1 to be home in time to see his four children before they went to bed, but was given a nice surprise as his wife Kim and Sophia, Edie, Teddy and Lola made their presence known during the trophy presentation.

Despite their effort to travel to Nottingham to see their dad win a 10th career grass court title, Murray revealed they were actually more interested in going to McDonald’s.

“To be honest, after I had the kids I was motivated to keep playing so they could watch me when I was older, but they are not really that interested,” Murray said.

“I thought they might be but they’re not. It is really nice for them to come, I have loved having them come and watch today, but I realise for them, they are more interested in other things.

“But it was still nice because they haven’t been to Wimbledon, they came to Queen’s when I played doubles there, but they haven’t been around it at all. They are more interested in when we are going to McDonalds after the match.

“I didn’t know they were coming. I was obviously hoping with the early start I would get down the road this evening, I had no idea they were coming.

“They showed up last week, we live quite close to Surbiton, and after I won the first set they decided to come and try and see the end. As they arrived it started raining, they hung around for a couple of hours but then it started getting close to bedtime so they went and as they got home I got back on court.

“They obviously decided to make the effort to come down here and thankfully I managed to win.”

A 10th win in a row renewed hope that Murray will be able to have a good run at Wimbledon, which starts in a fortnight.

This is his best sequence of results since 2017, when he still topped the world rankings and was not playing with a metal hip.

And he will now head to his favourite stomping ground at Queen’s, where a run to the quarter-finals could see him improve his ranking enough to be seeded at SW19.

He made it through the week at Nottingham without dropping a set, but it was a second-tier Challenger event so he will receive a truer test of where his game is at next week, with world number one Carlos Alcaraz and number two Holger Rune among others in the draw.

However, on the evidence of his movement, serving and match play this week, Murray looks a good bet to enjoy his best run at Wimbledon since he hobbled out of the 2017 quarter-finals with the hip injury that derailed his career.

Winning the Nottingham Open may not have the prestige of his previous successes, but they are still special to Murray.

“I love winning tournaments. Since all of the injury issues that has been a bit tougher for me,” he said. “All of these trophies I have won since the operation, they mean a lot to me.

“I’m not saying it’s the same as winning at Wimbledon, but I know how hard it is what I’m doing right now, I know how hard I’m working to getting back to trying to win tournaments and they still mean a lot to me.”

Katie Boulter won her first WTA Tour title after beating fellow Briton Jodie Burrage in the Rothesay Nottingham Open final.

Boulter, who is from Leicester and considers this her home tournament, beat Burrage 6-3 6-3 in the first all-British final at this level since 1977.

She had only reached a quarter-final before but now follows Johanna Konta as a British winner here, cementing her position as British number one and surging up the rankings to inside the top 80.

It also completed a British double as Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event.

Despite defeat, it was also a breakout week for Burrage in reaching her first final, and with three Britons making the last four, it was a strong response to the criticism for the lack of British women in the French Open singles last month.

Indeed, it is their best showing in a tournament since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the women’s game in the 1970s.

Playing at Nottingham has always meant a lot to Boulter, with her mum and granddad able to watch, and she made sure this was going to be her moment from the off as she surged into a 3-0 lead in the first set thanks to an early break.

Burrage has had some long matches this week and after a recent injury said she was “hanging by a thread” physically, and she struggled to match her compatriot throughout.

Boulter broke again but she missed her first chance to serve out the set only to quickly settle any nerves by breaking Burrage for a third time to take the opening set.

Another early break in the second set tightened her grip on the match and it never loosened, claiming victory and her maiden title on her second championship point.

There was a warm embrace between the British pair at the end as Boulter enjoyed her moment.

Emma Raducanu has revealed how she has had to deal with “sharks” and people who use her as a “piggy bank” following her US Open success in 2021.

Raducanu became an overnight star when she memorably won at Flushing Meadows as an 18-year-old in only her second grand slam, just three months after finishing her A-Levels.

That victory transformed her into one of the most marketable sportspeople in the world, with a raft of high-end sponsorship deals, but life on the court has been tough for her since then as she has tried to establish herself on the women’s WTA Tour against the backdrop of a glut of injury issues.

The Brit, now 20 and possibly out for the season following wrist and ankle surgery, admitted she was naive following her US Open win and has been taken advantage of.

“When I won I was extremely naïve,” Raducanu told The Sunday Times Style magazine. “What I have realised in the past two years, the tour and everything that comes with it, it’s not a very nice, trusting and safe space.

“You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there. I think people in the industry, especially with me because I was 19, now 20, they see me as a piggy bank.

“It has been difficult to navigate. I have been burnt a few times. I have learnt, keep your circle as small as possible.”

It remains to be seen whether Raducanu, who has been displaced as British number one by Katie Boulter, will play again this year following her double surgery.

And she admitted her desire not to seem weak to a newly-appointed coach saw her play through the pain and make the injury worse while also revealing how she suffered mentally.

“The pain [in the wrists] escalated last summer after Wimbledon,” she added. “I started with a new coach and I was really motivated to get going. We were overtraining, a lot of repetition, and I carried on even through pain because I didn’t want to be perceived as weak.

“I was struggling with the physical pain but the mental side of it was really difficult for me too. I always want to put forward the best version of myself, or strive for that, but I knew I couldn’t.

“I very much attach my self-worth to my achievements. If I lost a match I would be really down, I would have a day of mourning, literally staring at the wall. I feel things so passionately and intensely.

“I was under so much pressure to perform, people had no idea what was going on and I had to have this façade, to keep everything inside. It has been really hard.

“And then to be scrutinised for it when they don’t know what is going on. I am very young and still learning and making mistakes. It is a lot harder when you are making mistakes in front of everyone and everyone has something to say about it. The tour is completely brutal.”

Andy Murray continued his excellent preparation for Wimbledon with a second successive title.

The former world number one followed up his win at Surbiton last week with a flawless display to lift the Rothesay Nottingham Open.

Murray beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the final to make it 10 wins in a row.

That is his best sequence since 2017, when he still topped the world rankings and was not playing with a metal hip.

And he will now head to his favourite stomping ground at Queen’s, where another good week will see him improve his ranking enough to be seeded at SW19.

He made it through the week at Nottingham without dropping a set, but it was a second-tier Challenger event so he will receive a truer test of where his game is at next week at Queen’s, with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini and Holger Rune all in the draw.

However, on the evidence of his movement, serving and matchplay this week, he looks a good bet to enjoy his best run at Wimbledon since he hobbled out of the 2017 quarter-finals with the hip injury that derailed his career.

His physicality was tested here as he won his semi-final at 6.30pm on Saturday night but was back on at 11am for the final, which was brought forward owing to the threat of rain on Sunday afternoon.

He hit the ground running, though, breaking the world number 181 in the opening game before eventually seeing the first set out 6-4.

The second set was much tighter, owing to Cazaux’s big serve, but Murray broke at 4-4 and then served it out to get his hands on the trophy.

Andy Murray admitted he wished he had played more lower-level tournaments after making it back-to-back finals at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

The former world number one won his second title of the season on the second-tier Challenger Tour in Surbiton last week and is aiming to repeat the feat at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

He is yet to drop a set this week and eased past Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3 6-2 in only 72 minutes for his ninth victory in a row.

It is now four years since Murray returned to action following his hip resurfacing operation and he is pushing to be seeded at a grand slam for the first time since then at Wimbledon in two weeks’ time.

“I probably wish I’d dropped down and played more at this level sooner,” said Murray. “I did play a few Challengers when I came back but maybe I should have stayed there a little bit longer.

“I’ve won against three or four top-100 players in this run. There’s been some good wins against experienced grass-court players.

“For me physically and mentally to get used to being in this situation more again has been really helpful. Now it’s up to me to try and carry that on at the higher level over the next few weeks.”

Murray will return to the top 40 on Monday but will need more wins at Queen’s Club next week to earn a Wimbledon seeding and the concern could be the number of matches he has played in a short amount of time.

The 36-year-old played down those worries, though, saying: “Yes, you could say number of matches is what’s important but it’s also the nature of those matches.

“Today’s match was an hour and a quarter and was not a particularly physical match.

“If I was training at Queen’s, I would have been on the practice court for a couple of hours today and I would have been in the gym.

“There’s obviously the mental stress of the matches and competing but quite a few of the matches have been pretty quick. Physically I feel fine just now.”

Murray had rated his quarter-final win over Dominic Stricker as his best performance of the run and he was clinical in the opening set against Borges, ranked 73.

The second was a little scrappier, with Murray dropping serve and facing break points in other games, but more of the pressure was on his opponent and the Scot managed to avoid making things complicated.

The victory completed another memorable day for the home players after Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage set up a very rare all-British final in the WTA event.

In the final, the Scot will take on 20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who defeated Dominik Koepfer 7-5 6-2.

“I’ve played a lot of youngsters recently and it’s always tough,” said Murray. “We practised with each other recently so hopefully (there are) not too many surprises.”

Andy Murray made it back-to-back finals with his ninth win in a row against Nuno Borges at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

The former world number one won his second title of the season on the second-tier Challenger Tour in Surbiton last week and is aiming to repeat the feat at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

He is yet to drop a set and rated his quarter-final victory over Dominic Stricker on Friday as his best performance of the fortnight.

The 36-year-old carried that form into Saturday’s meeting with Portuguese Borges, ranked 73, to win 6-3 6-2 in an hour and 12 minutes.

It completed another memorable day for the home players after Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage set up a very rare all-British final in the WTA event.

Murray broke Borges’ serve at the first opportunity and was clinical in the first set. The only blip came when he dropped serve after breaking early in the second but he put it behind him quickly and won the final four games.

“I thought the start of the match was really good,” said Murray. “The second set was quite scrappy I think from both ends.

“The second set wasn’t so good but the first set was high level, I was really happy with it. You’re not going to play your best all the time. There are going to be blips and I managed to deal with it OK.”

In the final, the Scot will take on 20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who defeated Dominik Koepfer 7-5 6-2.

“I’ve played a lot of youngsters recently and it’s always tough,” said Murray. “We practised with each other recently so hopefully not too many surprises.”

Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage will contest a first all-British WTA Tour final for 46 years at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham on Sunday.

Britain’s leading women have responded in style to criticism of the fact none of them were in the main draw at the French Open with the sort of week not seen since the 1970s when Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the game.

Three home players were in the last four for the first time on the main tour since 1975, and Boulter defeated compatriot Heather Watson 6-4 7-5 before Burrage saw off France’s Alize Cornet 7-5 7-5.

In the 50 years of the WTA Tour, the only previous all-British finals saw Barker and Wade split victories in Paris in 1975 and San Francisco two years later.

Boulter has cemented her new British number one status this week, beating Harriet Dart in the quarter-finals on Thursday and now getting the better of Watson.

The 26-year-old, from nearby Leicestershire, went into the week ranked 126 but has guaranteed she will be back in the top 100 next week for the first time since 2019.

At that stage, Boulter looked set to push on towards the top 50, only for a stress fracture in her back to rule her out for seven months, and it has been a long road back.

“I’ve got all the feelings right now,” said Boulter. “I feel like I’ve really worked for this. It’s not something that I’ve just been given and I feel proud of myself for that because I’ve worked above and beyond for these moments.

“I haven’t had many of them and that’s why it makes this one extra special. Hopefully I’m not done yet and I’ve got one more to go. I’m hungry for more, which is pretty exciting for me.

“I’m hungry to go play Birmingham, I’m hungry for the tournaments after that. I don’t want to stop. I don’t want to just win a couple of matches, I’ve got more to come.

“It’s so good to be back (in the top 100) and I really hope it’s a stepping stone to pushing back in and really giving it a shot, because I felt I didn’t get a full chance when I was ranked 80. I wanted to play a full year where I could have a swing and see what happens.”

Grass suits Boulter’s hard, flat hitting and she claimed a first set disrupted by a rain delay before fighting back from 4-1 down in the second to clinch victory over Watson, who has also had a confidence-boosting week.

There had been tension between Boulter and Dart at the net over the former’s celebration – which Boulter insisted was water under the bridge now – but here the two players shared a lengthy hug.

Boulter can set a new career-high ranking in the top 80 if she can emulate Johanna Konta and the late Elena Baltacha – after whom the trophy is named – by winning the title.

But Burrage is also having the best week of her career and impressed again with the quality of her groundstrokes in taking out the hugely experienced Cornet, who ended Iga Swiatek’s 37-match unbeaten run at Wimbledon last summer.

“I wasn’t expecting this coming into this week,” said Burrage, 24. “But I’m very, very happy with my performance today. It’s going to be an amazing day tomorrow. What an amazing tournament for both of us.”

Burrage would break the top 100 for the first time and overtake Boulter as British number one should she lift the trophy.

That would put both in a strong position to qualify for future grand slams by right, and Boulter said: “We were maybe a little bit too early to put some negative stuff out.

“It’s very easy to focus on one or two tournaments but I think, bigger picture, we’re in a great place and I’m happy to say that and stand by it.”

Katie Boulter booked her place in her first WTA Tour final and ensured she will return to the top 100 by beating compatriot Heather Watson at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

Boulter has cemented her new British number one status this week, beating Harriet Dart in the quarter-finals on Thursday and now getting the better of Watson with a 6-4 7-5 victory.

The 26-year-old, from nearby Leicestershire, went into the week ranked 126 but has guaranteed she will be back in the top 100 next week for the first time since 2019.

At that stage, Boulter looked set to push on towards the top 50, only for a stress fracture in her back to rule her out for seven months, and her progress has been stuttering since.

This was the first all-British semi-final at tour level since Sue Barker and Virginia Wade used to meet regularly in the latter stages of tournaments in the 1970s.

And it could yet be only the third all-British WTA final, with Jodie Burrage taking on Alize Cornet in the other semi-final.

Grass suits Boulter’s hard, flat hitting and she broke the Watson serve to lead 3-2 before a rain delay of an hour-and-a-half disrupted things.

Watson immediately broke back on the resumption, but, with both women complaining about line calls, Boulter moved ahead again before clinching the set.

Watson looked set to take it to a decider when she led 4-1 in the second set, but Boulter saved four break points in the sixth game to stay in contention and won six of the last seven games.

There had been tension between Boulter and Dart at the net over the former’s celebration, but here the two players shared a lengthy hug.

Boulter said: “It means so much to me, especially here. It was a really tough match. I just tried to put my heart on the line and managed to get through it in the end.

“I’ve worked so hard for this, me and my team. I’m just going to keep plugging away and, even if this isn’t my moment, that’s OK.”