Lexus Nottingham Open 2026: Christopher O’Connell crowned men’s singles champion
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Australia’s Christopher O’Connell has claimed his first grass court title after beating Otto Virtanen in the Lexus Nottingham Open men’s singles final.
O’Connell edged two tight tie-break sets to defeat the former Lexus Birmingham Open champion 7-6(3), 7-6(6), securing his seventh ATP Challenger title - and first since September 2024.
With the win, he becomes the third Australian man to claim the Nottingham singles crown, following Nick Kyrgios (2014) and Alex de Minaur (2018).
Playing his first grass-court final, O’Connell saved eight of 10 break points to force two tie-breaks, where he overcame the experienced Finn, who was contesting his third career final on the surface.
Speaking after his victory, O’Connell said, “I’d like to congratulate the guy I battled with today, Otto. He’s had an amazing three weeks on the grass, he’s an unbelievable grass court player - much younger than me so you’re going to have many good grass court results in the future, so congratulations.
“Thank you guys (the crowd). What an awesome atmosphere - amazing week, I really love Nottingham. The organisation this week was awesome, everything was so well run it was so easy for us and I’d like to thank everyone involved.
Christopher O’Connell’s path to the title
- Final: bt. Otto Virtanen (FIN) 7-6(3), 7-6(6)
- Semi-final: bt. Remy Bertola (SUI) 6-4, 7-5
- Quarter-final: bt. Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) 6-4, 6-4
- Second round: bt. Jay Clarke (GBR) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)
- First round: bt. Henrique Rocha (POR) 7-6(2), 6-1
While he fell short in today’s final, a runner-up finish in Nottingham caps off an extremely impressive few weeks for Virtanen.
The 24-year-old also finished runner-up at the Lexus Birmingham Open before making his way to the Netherlands to compete in the ATP 250 event at s’Hertogenbosch - losing out in the first round.
The world No.160 will now make his way to South West London for Wimbledon qualifying, where he’ll be eyeing a place in the main draw.
“It’s been a great week for me, I enjoyed my stay here - I was made very welcome,” Virtanen added. “A lot of people here today watching and cheering - it's one of the best feelings in tennis, to play in front of a nice crowd.”
O'Connell broke early in both sets but couldn’t hold the advantage, as the Finn fought back to level and force consecutive tie-breaks.
After seeing one match point come and go at 6-5, O'Connell looked to close it out in the second set tie-break. The world No.154 dug up a trio of match points at 6-3, but Virtanen struck again to erase the deficit and give himself a lifeline.
However, O'Connell held firm and applied the pressure on the Finnish star at 7-6 up, eventually forcing a forehand error to seal his first ever title on grass.
Earlier today, the men’s doubles final saw Fernando Romboli and Theodore Winegar claim their first title together - beating all-American duo Mac Kiger and Reese Stalder 6-3, 6-4.
The Brazilian-American partnership converted all three of their break point opportunities on their way to lifting the silverware at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre.
In the women's draw, third seed Emma Navarro has set up a final clash against fourth seed Marie Bouzkova after both players came through their semi-final matches in straight sets.
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