Katie Boulter sent herself to dreamland and her boyfriend Alex de Minaur to the doghouse after defending her Rothesay Open title on a grueling day in Nottingham.
About six hours earlier, De Minaur had won the trophy in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. It’s the second time in an incredible year for tennis’ latest power couple to win a title on the same day.
De Minaur produced elite defending and trademark counterattacks to nullify Korda’s power on the ‘s-Hertogenbosch turf.
With his ninth ATP Tour title safely in the bag, the 25-year-old will rise two spots to a career-best No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday.
De Minaur achieved his ninth ATP title and achieved his highest world ranking, number 7.
“This achieves a new record in my career, so it’s always a big advantage,” De Minaur said in his on-court interview.
“My first week on grass couldn’t have been better, so I’m looking forward to next week at Queen’s and the entire grass season with a smile on my face. I’m glad I was able to win here in Holland.”
But unlike the previous occasion in March, when De Minaur made a mad dash from Acapulco to San Diego to witness Boulter’s big moment, there was no sign of the 25-year-old Australian on the pitch.
“My boyfriend didn’t make the trip even though I thought he would after his victory in Hertogenbosch, so we’ll have to talk about it tonight and see if we’re still together,” Boulter said. “I hope you’re listening to this, we have something to talk about!”
When Boulter took to the court in Nottingham yesterday, the odds were against her joining her boyfriend in the winner’s circle.
Katie Boulter won the Nottingham Open on a particularly busy day, having had to beat Emma Raducanu in the semi-finals just hours earlier.
She eliminated Raducanu in the semi-finals before facing Karolina Pliskova in the final.
First she had to win two sets in a row to beat her compatriot Emma Raducanu. Amid bad weather, the semi-final was postponed from Saturday night and Raducanu took the first set.
But in warmer conditions that suited Boulter better – the sun had made its first visit of the week to the Nottingham Tennis Center – he completed a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
That match lasted three hours and 13 minutes in total over the two days and Boulter only had a couple of hours to recover before facing the towering figure of Pliskova.
The 6ft 1in Czech is now 32 years old and no longer as strong as she once was, but she plays wonderfully well on grass with her cutting serve and effortless power off the ground. It will be a terrible first round draw for a big name at Wimbledon if she remains outside the seeding spots.
There was little fighting in this match between two players who have huge weapons and tend to shoot first and ask questions later.
And since both seemed to be struggling physically after their earlier efforts (Pliskova also had to play her semifinal in the morning, beating France’s Dianne Parry), they felt more incentivized than usual to keep the rallies short and sweet.
Boulter had the better of the first set, but from 15-0 to 4-4 he lost 12 of the next 14 points to lose the set. It was quite a meltdown and she doubled over, whether out of frustration or exhaustion or both, it was hard to guess.
But she showed strength when Pliskova – with her right thigh tied – began to weaken and, with a cry of ‘Come on Katie, I want to watch football!’ from the crowd, she took it home at 7:40 p.m., 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
In doing so, the 27-year-old demonstrated that, in addition to the natural power that God has given her and which has never been in doubt, she has added physical robustness and mental strength.
Alex de Minaur also lifted the Libema Open title in Holland on a dream day for the tennis power couple.
De Minaur and Boulter have enjoyed a dream weekend by winning both titles on the court
Pliskova’s double faults gave Boulter a chance to capitalize in the sun
With that package, Boulter is a force to be reckoned with and looks like a decent bet to surpass his current 30th place ranking in the world. He remains undefeated in his three tour finals so far after defending his Nottingham crown.
“This is a bit of deja vu,” he said. ‘I’m not entirely sure if I’m dreaming or if this really happened. It’s amazing to be here, it has a special place in my heart, it always will. It’s been an incredible week for me, mentally tough after a really tough season on clay.
‘Today was brutal. Today was my day.’
Apart from Jack Draper’s first title in Stuttgart, the first week of the grass season couldn’t have gone much better for the home team.