Lexus Nottingham Open 2026: Otto Virtanen & Christopher O'Connell set for men’s final clash

Virtanen will be looking for his second Challenger title on grass while O’Connell will be hoping to lift silverware in his first final on the surface.

2025 Lexus Birmingham Open champion, Virtanen battled through three sets against China’s Zhizhen Zhang 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5 in two hours and 23 minutes.

“It was a tough one, definitely the toughest of the week” Virtanen commented post-match. “I think he played great in the second set, all the sets we had a high level of serving, and it was tough to break both sides.

“I just got one break in the first set, it was a very close second set tie-break – he played just a bit better than me and I couldn’t find my serve that well so overall very tough match but happy with the win.”

Despite getting just 58% of first serves in, the Finnish star slammed down a massive 24 aces across the match. Crucially, he saved all seven break points faced in the match, including two at 5-5 in the third.

He’ll face a tough opponent in O’Connell, who won 6-4, 7-5 against Switzerland's Remy Bertola in an hour and 23 minutes to set up an exciting final on Saturday.

The Australian didn’t face a single break point in the semi-final while he converted three out of five of his own to book his place in the final on his tournament debut.

Lexus Nottingham Open final – Otto Virtanen vs Christopher O'Connell

Virtanen brings a lot of grass court experience with him into tomorrow's final – the Finn comes in fresh off a second final appearance at the Lexus Birmingham Open as well as having made a semi-final run at the ATP Challenger event in Surbiton in 2022.

The world No.160 claimed his first Grand Slam win at Wimbledon in 2024 after qualifying for the main draw. He moved past Max Purcell, who was ranked 79 places higher than him before falling to 13th seed Tommy Paul.

Meanwhile, this week marks a breakthrough for O’Connell, who will be competing in his first final on grass as he hopes to be the first Australian to lift the trophy since Alex de Minaur in 2018.

The world No.154’s best result on the surface was a third round appearance at Wimbledon in 2023, where he lost out to eventual quarter-finalist Christopher Eubanks.

The Australian made it to the semi-final in Stuttgart in the same year then also qualified for the HSBC Championships main draw in 2025 where he missed out against Holger Rune in the first round.

The pair’s only previous meeting came in 2024 in the first round of qualifying for the Japan Open, where O’Connell won in straight sets.

“It seems like he’s playing really good tennis right now on grass”, Virtanen said of his opponent after his semi-final match.

“I know him quite well, we practised here earlier in the week, but it’s another match and whoever plays better tomorrow wins.”

How to watch the Lexus Nottingham Open finals

The men’s singles final at the Lexus Nottingham Open will be available to watch exclusively on Challenger TV. 

The women’s singles competition will be streamed live on BBC digital services - including BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport - and on Tennis Channel.