Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu were denied another all-British semi-final clash before Wimbledon after losing comprehensively at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne. The British No. 1 Boulter, who defeated Raducanu in the last four to retain the Nottingham Open title 11 days ago, lost 6-1, 7-6 (0) against French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini. Raducanu, a former US Open champion, was then easily defeated 6-2, 6-2 by Daria Kasatkina, who lost to Madison Keys in the final at Eastbourne last year. Harriet Dart lost 6-2, 6-1 to Leylah Fernandez on Thursday, bringing her tally of British quarter-final exits to three.
Paolini, the world No.7, controlled the tactical duel against Boulter and fared significantly better in the windy conditions at Devonshire Park. The feisty 28-year-old Italian will meet sixth seed Kasatkina in the final four on Friday, while Canadian Fernandez will face reigning champion Keys.
Boulter struggled with her ball throw and made a series of expensive and often embarrassing mistakes in the face of a stiff breeze. After being distracted by a seagull and a piece of billowing garbage, she finished the fourth and sixth games with double faults, the second of which came when the ball struck the frame of her racket and sailed over the baseline.
Boulter made a similar mistake when she was broken five games into the second set, but after falling behind 4-2, she reacted by winning three games in a row to briefly raise the potential of a decider. Paolini, who lost the Roland Garros final to Iga Swiatek earlier this month, was a cut above, outperforming her opponent in the tie-break and continuing her incredible season.
Meanwhile, Raducanu struggled to connect with Kasatkina in another very one-sided Centre Court match. However, the 21-year-old, who missed the full grass-court season last year due to wrist and ankle surgery, returns to the All-England Club after remarkable victories over Sloane Stephens and world No.5 Jessica Pegula. Raducanu displayed sporadic flashes of her brilliance, including a brilliant backhand sliced winner as she saved four set chances in the opener.
However, she wasted a 40-0 lead on serve early in the second set and was broken six times in total, as her muscular Russian opponent dominated the majority of the rallies to advance. Meanwhile, wildcard Billy Harris is one step away from being the first Briton to reach the men’s singles final, having rallied from a set down to defeat Italian world No.49 Flavio Cobolli.
