Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu were ruled out again ahead of Wimbledon after comprehensive defeats at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne Deprived of the chance of the All England semi-finals.
British No. 1 Bolt defeated Raducanu in the semi-finals 11 days ago to defend the Nottingham Open title, but ultimately lost to French Open finalist Jasmine Pauly 1-6, 6-7 (0). Ni.
Former US Open champion Raducanu then easily defeated Daria Kasatkina, who lost to Maddie in the Eastbourne final last year, 6-2, 6-2. Sunkes.
Harriet Dart scored a hat-trick in England’s women’s quarter-final draw, losing 6-2, 6-1 to Leylah Fernandez on Thursday.
World number seven Paolini dominated the tactical battle against Bolt and adapted better to the windy conditions at Devonshire Park. The tenacious 28-year-old Italian will face sixth seed Casatkina in today’s semi-finals on Friday, while Canadian Fernandez (2021 Flushing Meadows runner-up to Raducanu) will Facing defending champion Keys.
Bolt had ongoing issues with his throw and made a series of costly and sometimes embarrassing mistakes in the challenging breeze. Already distracted by a seagull and a billowing piece of trash, she double-faulted in both the fourth and sixth games – the second of which came when the ball hit the racket frame and sailed off the baseline.
Bolt made a similar mistake, being broken five games in the second set, but trailing 2-4, she won three games on the spin to briefly boost her chances of reaching the decider.
However, Paolini, who lost to Iga Swiatek in the French Open final earlier this month, put in a strong performance and reaffirmed her authority over her opponent in the tie-break and continued her remarkable season.
Raducanu then failed to meet Kasatkina in another relatively one-sided Center Court match. However, the 21-year-old missed the entire grass-court season last year due to wrist and ankle surgery and heads to the All England Club inspired by wins over Sloane Stephens and world number five Jessica Pegula.
Raducanu, who occasionally showed class, caught the eye with a stunning backhand slice winner in the opener and saved four set points.
However, she took a 40-0 lead on serve early in the second set and was broken six times in total by her powerful Russian opponent who dominated much of the game to secure promotion.
Meanwhile, wild card player Billy Harris defeated Italian world No. 49 Flavio Coboli after losing a set first and became the first man to enter the men’s singles. The Englishman was just one step away from the final.
The 29-year-old reached the quarter-finals at Queen’s last week, beating compatriots Jacob Fearnley and Charles Bloom 6-7 (3) 7 in the early rounds. -6 (4) 6-2 win.
Nottingham-born Harris, ranked 139th in the world, will face Australian qualifier Max Purcell in the semi-finals, who defeated Serbian Mio 6-3 7-6 (4) Miomir Kecmanovic.
Elsewhere, top seed Alfie Hewitt defeated long-time doubles partner Gordon Reid in the men’s wheelchair singles quarter-finals, winning 6-2 6-1.
Teenager Hannah Klugman failed to reach the main draw during Wimbledon qualifying, but Sonai Kada had a special reason to celebrate her progress after overcoming serious health issues. Kartal was Emma Raducanu’s main rival as a junior after she had been plagued by injuries throughout her career and feared she might miss an entire year. Kartal struggled in the first two rounds but defeated Russian Erika Andreeva (sister of teenage star Mila) 6-3 6-1 on Thursday.
Klugman, 15, had hoped to become the youngest Wimbledon qualifier since Coco Gauff, but she was overwhelmed in a 6-3 6-3 loss to American Alicia Parks, The latter rose to No. 40 in the rankings after winning the grass-court title in Italy last week. However, the teenager was not discouraged, saying: “I’m definitely proud of myself this week. If you had told me at the beginning of the week that I would be in the final qualifying round, I would have taken it. She is already 40 , it’s great to see her level.
Kluman will now focus on junior competition, where she will be one of the favorites to be ranked No. 6 in the world. Kartal’s success means Britain will have 19 singles players in Friday’s main draw, the most at Wimbledon this century.
Another name who now looks certain to join them is seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who trained on Center Court with Jannik Sinner on Thursday.
