Matches have sadly been rescheduled due to heavy rain delays. Play will resume 11:00am, Sunday 19 July. 

Quads

While there was no play possible on the outdoor courts on Saturday at the Rothesay Classic, two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Andy Lapthorne made a winning debut at the Edgbaston Priory Club after winning the first of his two quad singles wheelchair tennis matches. Lapthorne beat Antony Cotterill 6-1, 6-0 in the indoor courts and will now play James Shaw, another fellow Brit, in the third round-robin match of the week on Sunday.   

Katie Boulter lost 6-4, 6-1 to former Wimbledon champion, and second seed, Simona Halep, ending her time here in Birmingham as she exits the tournament.  

Knocking on the door early in the first set, Boulter looked to be the more settled as the Romanian showed vulnerability. Yet, a missed opportunity presented itself as Boulter was unable to capitalise on her first break point of the match. Despite opening the match the strongest of the two, it only took one break for Halep to do some damage as she closed out the first set in timely fashion.

Three breaks of serve in the first three games of the second; Halep proved why she is one of the best retrievers in the game as Boulter struggled to maintain hold. The world No.20 edged her way closer to semi-final glory as she claimed a double break to take a healthy lead, leaving the British No.4 with a tall order to chase.

A serve packed with power from Halep resulted in a long ball beyond the baseline from Boulter, marking yet another clean sheet for the second seed as she storms into the last four.

Sixth seed, Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, advanced to the semi-finals after a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory over qualifier Donna Vekic.

Taking the early initiative in the opening set, Cirstea asserted her dominance to go up a break but it wasn’t enough to cushion her lead as Vekic scrambled her way back to parity.

Swinging freely at a set point down, Vekic left the sixth seed with some more work to do as she stubbornly remained in the set, delivering a pinpoint shot in the far corner to break back.

The tables now turned, and with two consecutive breaks points on her side, it was the Croatian who came out on top after a fire-fuelled serve saw Cirstea unable to control the ball – granting Vekic the advantage.

Cirstea took the lead in the second set as she went up a break, but a quick response from Vekic saw the world No.36 concede two break points as her opponent began to creep back. Now just a game away from a level playing field, an effortless service game from the Croatian star brought the set back to parity as the latter stages of the second set began to unfold.

However, Vekic was unable to capitalise on the opportunity as a slip up marked the end of her 100% record here in Birmingham after the net blocked the way for the former Nottingham Open champion, allowing Cirstea to firmly slam the door on the second set.

The pressure surging, Vekic went into double figures for double faults, gifting the Romanian an early lead. The former world No.21 needed only stay on serve to book herself a place in her first ever grass court semi-final, and she did just that as Cirstea put the match to bed in two hours 31 minutes.

Just eight years after her semi-final appearance in Birmingham, eighth seed Shuai Zhang is through to the last four for a second time in her career after defeating Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-4.

Rattling through the first set, a break in Zhang’s favour was the only thing separating the two until some great retuning from the young Ukranian levelled the scoreboard.  

Just a game away from first set glory; Yasremska was unable to derail the eighth seed as her strong offensive style played to her advantage, giving her an all-important cushion to go on and break the three-time tour level champion for a second time. Zhang clinched the opening set after a total of 40 minutes of action.

Ruthless in her approach; Zhang opened the second set with a healthy lead as she consolidated her early break with an impressive hold to keep the world No.79 at bay. However, a inch-perfect shot from Yasremska forced Zhang into a state of unsteadiness as she lost serve.

A moment of relief turned into a moment of despair for the Ukranian as the world No. 54 wasted no time in rebuilding her lead, with her controlled, efficient, dominant performance leading her to a well-deserved straight-sets victory.  

Beatriz Haddad Maia secured the final semi-final spot after defeating third seed, Camila Giorgi, 6-3, 6-2.

From a break down in the first set to the Brazilian marching back to complete control; Haddad Maia won six games on the bounce to close out the first set.  

Maintaining her dominance, the newly crowned Rothesay Open champion was gifted the lead after a double fault from the Italian left her trailing behind once again.

With everything Haddad Maia hit turning to gold, and Camila Giorgi semi-final’s hopes fading away, the world No.32 produced a match-winning return to leave the third seed unable to respond, giving her the double break required to book her second consecutive grass court semi-final.

Quad

As a ground-breaking two weeks of wheelchair tennis began, with wheelchair draws at three of the LTA’s premier grass court tournaments at The Queen’s Club, The Edgbaston Priory Club and Devonshire Park in Eastbourne, James Shaw made history at the Rothesay Classic Birmingham.

Shaw beat fellow Brit Antony Cotterill 6-1, 6-0 on Friday in the first of three round-robin matches at the first grass court world ranking tournament for quad division players outside of Wimbledon.

Harriet Dart and Sarah Beth Grey lost out on a place in the semi-finals after losing 6-3, 6-2 to former doubles No.1 Sania Mirza, and former No.4 Lucie Hradecka.

Suffering an early break of serve, the British pair fought to keep the competition alive as they broke back to make it 2-1, but sadly it wasn’t enough. The Czech/Indian duo responded with yet another break of serve to see out the first set with a 6-3 lead.

Mirza and Hradecka wasted no time in the second, going up a double-break and holding in style to put the match to bed in just under an hour.  

Top seeds in action

Onto the singles main draw where third seed Camila Giorgia claimed her third win in seven matches against America’s Lauren Davis after securing a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.

Taking the early initiative; it was the world No.108, Davis, who charged into the match on the attack as she capitalised on her first break point – setting the narrative for the opening set as she proceeded to take the lead.   

However, the Italian fought back in blistering fashion as she stormed ahead in the second to bring the match back to parity, giving her the confidence to go on and take the third in style after a tactical forehand down the line left the American unable to respond.

Giorgi will now advance to the quarter-finals for a second time here at the Rothesay Classic.

Joining Giorgi in the quarter-finals will be Ukranian Dayana Yastremska as she defeated the No.1 seed, Jelena Ostapenko, in a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 titanic victory.

Three breaks of serve in a row resulted in Ostapenko edging her nose out in front as she began to assert her dominance in the first set, taking commanding position as her power-stricken ground strokes paved the way to a 1-0 lead.

A match of few and far between; the second began with strong holds from both sides, but Yastremska wasn’t going to let any gifted opportunity let slip as it took the Ukranian just one breakpoint to equalise for yet another three-set thriller to unfold.

With just a single set shoot-out to decide their fate; it was Yastremska who came out on top in a dramatic showdown that was polished off with a match-winning forehand down the line to keep the top seed at bay.

Katie Boulter guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals after memorable straight-sets win, but it wasn't to be for the British No.2, Harriet Dart, as she exits the tournament after defeat to the No.2 seed. 

Boulter secured yet another top 100 win after her 7-6(5), 6-1 defeat over former Nottingham Open champion, Caroline Garcia.

The contest eased in nicely with relatively comfortable holds from both sides before Garcia began to turn up the heat, producing three aces in one game to force Boulter on the backfoot.

With a mighty service game success rate, the French star was first up to challenge Boulter’s hold as she received the first breakpoint of the match, but the Briton came through unscathed, salvaging her hold to stay in the first set.

The match now in full swing; it was the Leicester-born star who was the first to go up a break after a backhand down the line ejected with pace saw Garcia unable to respond, awarding the British No.4 with the initial advantage. Yet, the world No.74 wasn’t done just yet as a couple of double faults from Boulter led the match back to parity.

Forced to a tiebreak, the British star forged a healthy early lead, clinching the set after a double-fault from the seven-time tour level winner left her trailing behind.

Having broken her opponent late in the first set, Boulter released an early attack in the second, breaking for a second time to soar into the lead. Now breaming with confidence and playing with panache, Boulter charged ahead with a double-break lead, sealing the win in style with a straight-sets masterclass.

Only top 20 player Simona Halep now stands between Boulter and the semi-finals.

However, it wasn’t to be for fellow Brit, Dart as she bowed out of the tournament after losing 6-3, 5-2 to an impenetrable Simona Halep.

A near perfect beginning for the British No.2; Dart took an early lead after breaking the second seed with ease, but the Romanian soon broke back to level the playing field.

Despite producing some devilishly good defensive tennis, Dart struggled to maintain serve as the former world No.1 struck from a low-down position to turn the set around, eventually breaking the 25-year-old to see out the first set.

The former Wimbledon champion’s quality unrelenting; Halep earned that all-important double break before serving her way to victory.

Katie Boulter captured an enormous win after defeating seventh seed, and Rothesay Open finalist, Alison Riske in a 6-4, 6-3 triumph.

Boulter came out on the attack as she claimed an early break to take control of the opening set, making it the perfect start for the 25-year-old. Confidence brewing, Boulter produced some intelligent play, working the ball around the corners to get the first set on the board.

Going into the second on a high, Boulter secured the second break of the match after a strong forehead down the line left her opponent on unsteady ground. Just a point away from victory, the Briton took charge once and for all after a creative pinpoint winner led her to the best rankings victory of her career.

Doubles 

In the doubles, Harriet Dart and Sarah Beth Grey had a successful day at the office as they finished the morning with a comfortable defeat over Polish pair Katarzyna Kawa and Katarzyna Piter.  

Up two breaks in the first set, Dart and Grey exerted their dominance as they maintained hold throughout, but an early break in the second gifted the advantage to the top 100 side.

With two breaks apiece in the deciding set, it was a fight to the finish after Dart produced the needed equaliser to stop Kawa and Piter from obtaining a level plane.

Despite Kawa and Piter’s best efforts to stay in the match and rebuild momentum, the Brits proved too strong for the duo, closing out the match with a straight-sets victory in one hour 13 minutes.

Harriet Dart continues her fantastic run of form as she defeats Colombian star, Camila Osorio, 6-2, 6-0.

Dart showed no signs of slowing down off the back of her scintillating performance at the Rothesay Open last week, breaking in the opening game to take the early advantage.

Following what can only be described as a battle of the breaks in an action-packed opener, Dart soon regained control after releasing a domineering smash shot that saw her take hold in style. Storming ahead, a double fault from the Colombian led to a third break for Dart, allowing her to close out the first set with ease.

Into the deciding set and Dart’s focus never flickered, breaking the world No.61 three times before serving her way to a comfortable straight-sets victory.

In the doubles, Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls bowed out of the tournament after meeting third seeds, Lucie Hradecka and Sania Mirza, in the opening round.

The British duo fought hard to find a way through their opponents’ tenacious defence but the Czech/Indian double-act were a force to be reckoned with, closing out the match 5-5, 6-2 in one hour 20 minutes.

Eden Silva missed out on a spot in Monday's main draw at teh Rothesay Classic Birmingham having lost to the USA's Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 7-6

The result leaves wild cards Harriet Dart and Katie Boulter to front the British charge in Birmingham this year.

Elsewhere top seed Donna Vekic cruised into the main draw with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Gabriela Lee and will be joined by Rebecca Marino and Caty McNally.

Briton Eden Silva earned herself a place in the final round of qualifying for the Rothesay Classic Birmingham thanks to a gutsy 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 comeback win against Katazyna Kawa  to set up Sunday showdown with former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Coco Vandeweghe. At stake will be a place in the main draw.

Former Birmingham runner-up Donna Vekic of Croatia showed her grass court prowess to dash the hopes of Briton Katie Swan on Saturday. Vekic will now face Germany’s Gabriela Lee in Sunday’s final round of qualifying.

Saturday saw the Classic celebrate its 40th Anniversary with an exhibition match featuring stars including Sorana Cirstea and two-time Wimbledon and Rothesay Classic Birmingham champion Petra Kvitova, as well as some of the Midlands’ best junior girls.