Former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez and Daria Kasatkina will battle it out to claim a maiden grass court crown in Eastbourne after both players came through in three sets on Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile in the men's draw, Billy Harris missed out on the chance to extend his fairytail run to the final in Eastbourne after falling short against Max Purcell. The Australian will now face top seed Taylor Fritz in tomorrow' men's singles final.

Canada's Fernandez put up a resilient fight to de-throne reigning champion Madison Keys in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win to reach her first final of the season on her tournament debut.

The 21-year-old carried her exemplary form so far this week into her second career-meeting against the American.

Fernandez was the first to stamp her authority on the match, playing on the front foot as she surged to a double break lead. The American responded well to the set back, salvaging one of the breaks before the Canadian eventually saw out the opening set.

Fernandez and Keys continued to exchange breaks early in the second but it was the American who had the last say as she levelled the contest.

Fired up by dropping the second, the Canadian looked to produce a strong response as she sprinted to a 3-0 lead in the decider.

With two-time Eastbourne champion Keys having nothing to lose, she began to pile the pressure on the young star as she stepped up to serve for the match. Fernandez showcased tremendous grit to save four break points in the final game before sealing a spot in her maiden final on the grass thanks to a wide backhand return from her opponent.

Our second semi-final battle saw Kasatkina reach back-to-back finals on the South Coast as she produced a comeback victory over Jasmine Poalini, winning 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Both players struggled to hold serve in the early stages of the match, with five breaks of serve lining the opening set. It was Poalini who managed to compose herself at the perfect opportunity as she grasped the set.

From then on, Kasatkina was playing catch-up against the Roland Garros finalist. The world No.14 began to win more points behind her first serve, sealing 77% of points in the second set in comparison to just 44% in the first before breaking the Italian on her sixth opportunity to split the match to one set apiece.

A fast start from Poalini in the decider saw her break the six-time WTA titlist on her opening service game to take the reigns. However, like many matches on the grass, anything can happen. Kasatkina sparked to life – rallying to win four games in a row, leading the world No.7 to spray a series of unforced errors as she closed in on her second consecutive final in Eastbourne in over two hours.

Men's draw: Harris bows out in semi-final while Skupski reigns supreme

Harris's journey in Eastbourne came to an end at the hands of qualifier Purcell, with the Brit losing out, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

The 29-year-old has embarked on a summer to remember on the grass and was bidding to become the first British man to reach the final in Eastbourne when he stepped onto court today.

Competing in his first ATP semi-final, Harris showed some glimpses of nerves early on in the match, with the world No.94 taking full advantage, as he grasped the only break of the opening set to edge in front.

Into the second and the Australian continued to pile the pressure on Harris's serve - hunting down five break points across the set which the big-serving Brit soon batted away to hold firm. With an opening presenting itself at 5-4, Harris grabbed the opportunity by the scruff of the neck to steal the set and keep his dream alive.

However, Purcell raised his level once again in the decider - dominating behind his first serve where he won 80% of points before going on to close out the win in two hours and 15 minutes to secure his first tour-level singles final.

Despite the disappointment, Harris can leave Eastbourne with his head held high and will now attention The Championships, Wimbledon, where he will make his main draw Grand Slam debut as a wild card.

Purcell will now face former champion Fritz who came through a match of fine margins against Aleksander Vukic, 7-6(5), 7-6(4).

Tomorrow, the American will bid to become the first three-time champion in Eastbourne, and places himself in good stead to do after racking up an impressive 12-4 win record at the tournament.

Heading into today's match, Fritz had been taken to a tie-break in three of the four sets he'd contested and today proved to be a similar story against the Australian. The 27-year-old remained tenacious in his service games - winning an astonishing 96% of points behind his first serve across the match.

Despite drawing out five break point opportunities, the top seed failed to take his chances as he was forced to come through successive tie-breaks. With his first match point in sight, Fritz looked to close out the win before the sun went down as he slammed another commanding serve over the net which Vukic failed to return.

Doubles

In form doubles duo Neal Skupski and Michael venus made it two successive titles on the bounce as they backed up their victory at the cinch Championships with a golden run to the trophy in Eastbourne.

The British, Kiwi duo faced all-Australian pair John Peers and Matthew Ebden and showed great resilience to fight back from a set and a break down to eventually prevail in the match-deciding tie-break, 4-6, 7-6(2), 11-9.

Read more about their win at Devonshire Park

Day six: Harris lights up Eastbourne to reach first ATP semi-final while Boulter, Dart and Raducanu exit  

We're back for the sixth day of the 2024 Rothesay International Eastbourne and we've got a bumper day in store the Brits. Billy Harris's whirlwind summer continues as he pulled off a comeback win to reach his first ATP tour-level semi-final, while Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu and Harriet Dart suffered defeat in the final eight.

British No.1 Boulter's journey in Eastbourne ended in the quarter-finals as she bowed out to this year's Roland Garros runner-up Jasmine Poalini 6-1, 7-6(0).

The windy conditions made it tough for both players today but a double fault from the Boulter racket gifted the Italian the first break of serve before repeating the same mistake at 5-1 to give Poalini the chance to serve out the set.

The two-time Rothesay Open champion faced a gruelling service game at 2-3, which eventually saw the world No.7 get the first breakthrough of the second. However, Boulter needed just one break point opportunity to claw back to level terms as she forced the tie-break, which saw Poalini take complete control. Having won six points in a row, the Roland Garros runner-up slammed down an ace to eventually clock her fifth career win on the grass. 

Boulter will now turn her attention to Wimbledon where she'll enter as a seeded player for the first time in her career.

British No.2 Dart was beaten 6-2, 6-1 by 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, who has shone on her debut in Eastbourne.

The pair had met only once before, with their last meeting in Montreal back in 2021 going the way of the Brit. Since then, Fernandez has skyrocketed up the WTA rankings and added three tour-level titles to her repertoire.

Dart got off to the perfect start - breaking the world No.30 to 15 on her opening service game before she responded immediately by breaking back. Fernandez looked to pile the pressure on Dart's service games and it paid off, as he won 62% of return points off the Brit's first serve, and broke the 27-year-old five times to reach her first semi-final on the grass.

Fernandez will next face reigning champion Madison Keys, who earlier received a walkover after Karolina Muchova withdrew from the tournament due to a right wrist injury.

Meanwhile Raducanu closed out Thursday's British action but unfortunately fell short against Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-2.

The former US Open champion was forced to leave her emphatic comeback victory over world No.5 Jessica Pegula behind as she returned to court to face last year's runner-up Kasatkina.

While both players struggled to adapt to the blustery conditions, it was the world No.14 who coped better - converting seven of the 13 break point opportunities she conjured up to eventually glide to ease to victory.

Despite the disappointment for Raducanu, she'll be able to carry some confidence with her into Wimbledon where she's received a main draw wild card.

Men's draw: Harris reached maiden ATP semi-final after comeback win 

Harris's dream summer continues as the world No.139 booked his place to a career-first ATP semi-final after defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-2.

After falling on the losing side of an opening set tie-break, Harris was left with work to do in the second. Despite both players catching glimpses of break points, neither refused to budge as we eventually headed to yet another tie-break. Cobolli was the first to edge his nose in-front as he grasped the mini-break but the British No.5 channelled all the energy and momentum from the home crowd to break the Italian twice and force a decider.

The Brit - who's impeccable form on the grass has been rewarded with a wild card to the main draw of Wimbledon - continued to play on the front foot, landing 71% of first serves across the match and striking an impressive 33 winners.

With a spot in the final four on the line, Harris saved his best tennis until the third set as he raced ahead to a 5-2 lead before securing the win with an inch-perfect backhand return to the baseline on his third match point.

Doubles

Over in the men's doubles draw, Neal Skupski has made it back-to-back ATP Finals alongside Kiwi star Michael Venus.

The pair bypassed Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-8 to close in on a spot in the finals, just days after the pair were crowned cinch Championships doubles champions for the first time.

Skupski and Venus will tomorrow compete for the silverware when they take on all-Australian duo John Peers and Matthew Ebden, after they edged Britain's Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara 6-7(11), 7-6(4), 10-5.

Wheelchair

Five British wheelchair players earned victory on the opening day of the wheelchair draw in Eastbourne with Alfie Hewett, Ben Bartram, Andrew Penney, Andy Lapthorne and Lucy Shuker all stunning at Devonshire Park.

With a men’s wheelchair tennis draw featuring at Eastbourne for the first time this year, world No. 2 Hewett and Bartram both earned 6-2, 6-1 victories over Gordon Reid and Dahnon Ward respectively.

Penney beat Asif Abbasi of Pakistan 6-0, 6-2 to book himself a men’s singles semi-final against Argentinian second seed Gustavo Fernandez.

World No.7 Lapthorne faces a tough quad singles semi-final against world No.1 Sam Schroder of the Netherlands after defeating Colombia’s Daniel Campaz 6-1, 6-2, while Shuker made a fine start to her women’s singles campaign by defeating the USA’s Maylee Phelps 6-3, 6-4.

British No.1 Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart continued their dominance on the grass, while Emma Raducanu earned her first victory over a top 10 player and Billy Harris took down another British star as all four booked their spots in the quarter-final.

Raducanu clocked the biggest win of her career by ranking as she fought past second seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 in a two hour 30 minute marathon.

British No.1 Boulter took down former champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-5 in just over two hours, while Dart came through a tough three-set battle against Sofia Kenin to win 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-0.

After falling short to the world No.5 in the opener, Raducanu came back from a break down in the second set to eventually force a tie-break, where Pegula stormed ahead to a comfortable 3-0 lead. Raducanu dug her heels in – winning seven of the next 11 points and saving match point to take a set off a top 10 player for the first time in her career.

Rallied on by a home crowd, all momentum rested with the 2021 US Open champion, who showcased some of the best tennis of her career on Centre Court at Devonshire Park. After racing ahead to a 5-2 lead, a spot in the quarter-finals was in touching distance for Raducanu, however a late twist in tale saw the American win three games in a row to get proceedings back on serve.

Despite the setback, Raducanu produced a gritty display to immediately break back before making it third time lucky – coming back from 0-40 down on her serve to eventually seal the biggest win of her career on her first match point as Pegula sent a forehand wide.

Today marked a career-first meeting between Boulter and Ostapenko, who are both renowned for their big-hitting and aggressive styles of play, but it was the Brit who dominated the opening stages of the match. Landing an impressive 76% of first serves in, Boulter eased through her service games and used her power to hit through the world No.13 as she secured the opening set on the seventh time of asking.

After four breaks of serve in the second, a tie-break looked to be on the horizon but one final blow from Boulter saw her edge her nose in front once again. Stepping up to serve for the match, Boulter slammed a thunderous serve down the ‘T’ before the Latvian hit a backhand wide to catapult the Brit to victory – marking her joint best appearance in Eastbourne.

She'll now go on to face this year's Roland Garros runner-up Jasmine Poalini.

British No.2 Dart faced a tough opponent in the form of world No.48 Kenin.

After the Briton secured the first set, both players struggled behind their serve with neither able to take control of the second set. After six breaks of serve, we headed towards a tie-break, which saw the American sprint to a 6-3 lead before levelling the tie to a set apiece.

However, Dart ramped up the intensity in the deciding set - winning 93% of points behind her first serve as she strung together six consecutive games to reach the final eight, where she sets up a blockbuster meeting against 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez.

Men's draw: Harris defeats second Brit of the week

Billy Harris continues to shine on the grass, as he took down Charles Broom, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in Eastbourne.

The 29-year-old has reached at the least the quarter-finals of every grass court event so far this summer and adds the ATP 250 event in Eastbourne to growing list.

Harris's first serve let him down in the opening set, landing just 39% as Broom convincingly took the opener. However, the world No.139 - who made headlines last week when he reached the final eight at the cinch Championships - soon found his rhythm in the second as he leveled the contest with a double break.

Into the decider they went and Harris dialed up the aggression, winning 58% of return points off Broom's first serve while remaining solid behind his own to eventually close out victory with a break to love.

However, it was the end of the road for Giles Hussey who bowed out in the round of 16 against Flavio Cobolli. The Brit eased to a one set advantage in the opener before the Italian went on to grasp a break in the second and third to wrap up a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.

Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter will join Harriet Dart as a trio of British players look set for the second round of the women’s singles at the Rothesay International Eastbourne.

Raducanu marked her main draw debut with an explosive 6-4, 6-0 victory over 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.

British No.1 Boulter survived a second set scare to defeat Croatia’s Petra Martic 6-1, 7-6(8).

There was also a first ATP Tour win for Britain’s Giles Hussey, who made the most of his opportunity as a lucky loser to progress to the second round.

However, Cam Norrie, Liam Broady, Lily Miyazaki and Henry Searle all exited in the first round – bowing out in straight sets.

21-year-old Raducanu had to come back from a break down twice in the opening set, but the American was simply unable to deal with the intense ball-striking from the other side of the net.

Having turned things around from 4-3 and a break behind to lead 5-4 in the opener, Raducanu snapped a stunning forehand winner down the line to bring about set point, which she took at the first time of asking.

After clinching a tight first set, Raducanu hit full flight. She went on to break Stephens six times in a row and closed out the second set in just 27 minutes.

In the second round she will face last week’s campion in Berlin, Jessica Pegula.

Boulter on the other hand came out flying on Centre Court – taking the first five games, losing just eight points.

With the first set wrapped up, everything looked to be going Boulter’s way as she edged out 3-1 in front. However, Martic was far from out of the fight and as her game continued to build and the slice backhand came into full effect, cracks started to appear in the Brit’s game.

Martic had the chance to serve out the set at 5-3, led 5-1 in the tie-break and had three set points, but Boulter refused to let go. With her second match point on serve deep in the breaker, the Croatian’s steel defence gave way as Boulter secured a second round clash with former champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Meanwhile, Miyazaki was defeated by WTA doubles world No.1 Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-2.

Despite breaking early in the first set, British wild card struggled to capitalise on her first serves – winning just 46% of points when it landed throughout the match.

The 28-year-old Brit now turns her attention to Wimbledon where she will have a main draw wild card.

Men’s draw: Dream start for Hussey

It was a dream day for 27-year-old Hussey who responded to a late call-up to the main draw by defeating sixth seed and world No.32 Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-2.

In the biggest win of his career, Hussey made the most of his experience on the Eastbourne grass from qualifying this week to break the Argentine four times to wrap up a win in an hour and four minutes.

The world No.359 will move on to play Italian Flavio Cobolli in the second round and would face the winner of Billy Harris vs Charles Broom in the quarter-finals.

British No.2 Norrie had chances against Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori but eventually lost 7-6(9), 6-3 in an hour and 34 minutes.

Despite solid serving in the opening set, it was a frustrating performance for the former Wimbledon semi-finalist, who failed to convert on all seven of his break points – including from 0-40 in the third game of the second set. Ruusvuori peppered away at the Brit’s forehand to much avail throughout the match and once he clinched the first break of the match, was able to serve out the win.

Broady’s return from injury was met with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka.

In his first match since March, Broady pushed the world No.102 all the way and had led 3-1 with multiple break points in the second before Nishioka closed out a hard-earned win in an hour and 46 minutes.

Junior Wimbledon champion Searle stepped in as a lucky loser against former runner-up Lorenzo Sonego.

Despite breaking in the opening game and showing glimpses of brilliance in front of the Centre Court crowd, the experienced Italian won 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and seven minutes.

Harriet Dart and Billy Harris opened this year’s Rothesay International Eastbourne with a pair of British wins on the first day of main draw action at Devonshire Park.

Dart put in a fighting performance on Centre Court to beat Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-4 in an epic match lasting over three and a half hours.

"It was an incredible match, so many ups and downs," she said. "Marie is an incredible fighter and always makes it very tough and I’m a bit surprised these long matches are coming on grass to be honest. I’m very happy that it turned my way this time."

In her first top 50 win since she defeated Zhang Shuai in the first round of Eastbourne last year, Dart brought her absolute A-game for the home crowd on the sunny south coast.

The victory books a second round clash with Sofia Kenin after top seed and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina withdrew from the tournament.

Dart came back from a double break down in the opening set as she started to ask serious questions of the world No.38 - forcing her to make more and more mistakes. With frustration building for Bouzkova, Dart only continued to raise her game and won five of the last six games to go a set in front.

In the second Dart came back from a 4-1 deficit again and battled hard to force a tie-break, but facing her fourth set point, the Briton pushed a smash wide to see the Czech draw level.

A former quarter-finalist in Eastbourne – Dart upped her game in the biggest moments and she came out swinging in the third. She broke for the seventh and eighth time in the match to go 3-1 in front and then managed to pull together three straight service games for the first time to see out the win.

Elsewhere in the women's draw Polish qualifier Magda Linette staged a huge comeback to defeat world No.25 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in two hours and 18 minutes.

Ana Kalinina beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-2, while former champion Jelena Ostapenko knocked out Greet Minnen 7-6(3), 6-1 in an hour and 27 minutes.

Lastly on Centre, 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez beat seventh seed and former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Men's draw: Harris wins battle of the Brits

29-year-old Harris got the better of compatriot Jacob Fearnley in the first match on Centre Court.

Fresh off the back of a quarter-final run at the cinch Championships, Harris kick-started his Eastbourne campaign with a 6-4, 7-6(7) win over Nottingham champion, Fearnley.

Harris’s first serve has been his biggest weapon on the grass this summer and so it proved to be once again.

The Briton only faced one break point throughout the match and lost just seven points off his first serve en route to his first main draw win in Eastbourne.

Fearnley played a solid level for the duration of the hour and 38 minute battle and led 4-1 in the second set tie-break but couldn’t get over the line to force a decider. Harris continued to slam down the first serves and on his third match point, the Briton connected on a strong return forcing Fearnley to send the ball long.

He'll play Charles Broom in the next round after second seed Tommy Paul pulled out of this year's comeptition.

Meanwhile, Max Purcell defeated Serbian Laslo Djere 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours, and Aleksandr Vukic upset Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-4.

The big upset of the day came as USA's Marcos Giron knocked out reigning champion Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(5), 7-6(4).

Ranah Stoiber, Ella McDonald, Charles Broom, Henry Searle and Giles Hussey bowed out in the final round of qualifying at the Rothesay International Eastboune on Sunday.

Stoiber exited after a close battle with top seed and world No.45 Magda Linette 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in an hour and 55 minutes.

The young Brit – who claimed the biggest win of her career yesterday against Spain’s Cristina Bucsa – showed great fight to save break points at 4-4 in the second before going on to force the decider.

However, the Pole’s experience carried her through in the third. Stoiber had two chances to break back in the second game of the set at 15-40, but from there, Linette only lost two points on serve the rest of the way.

McDonald lost out on Court 1 to world No.70 Ashlyn Krueger 6-4, 6-0. 

The young Brit overturned an early 3-0 deficit in the opening set to get back to 4-4 before the American reeled off eight games to book her place in the main draw.

Over on Court 5, in-form Broom came within touching distance of his first ATP Tour main draw against Australia's James McCabe - narrowly losing out 6-7(1), 7-6(4), 7-5.

Broom had three match points in the second set and led 5-3 in the decider, but the Australian came out on top in the big moments, edging a hard earned victory in three hours and 17 minutes.

Searle lost out in a close battle against former Australian Open doubles champion Max Purcell 7-6(6), 6-4.

The 18-year-old Brit came back from a break down and had set point at 6-5 in the first set tie-break but was unable to push over the line. He stayed strong on serve throughout the second, but with the match on the line at 5-4, Purcell clinched the decisive break.

Hussey ran fifth seed Juncheng Shang close in his final qualifying match, but like his fellow compatriots, narrowly lost out 7-5, 7-6(5). 

British stars Ella McDonald, Ranah Stoiber, Henry Searle and Giles Hussey clinched the biggest wins of their career while Charles Broom's strong form on the grass continues Rothesay International Eastbourne.

Lexus Ilkley Trophy quarter-finalist McDonald clinched the upset of the day against world No.50 Ana Bogdan 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

The British wild card had the perfect response after losing the second set - reeling off five straight games before closing out her best victory to date. 

Stoiber – who made the second round in Ilkley last week – beat world No.66 Cristina Bucsa 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 27 minutes to move one match away from her first WTA 500 main draw. She will play qualifying top seed Magda Linette tomorrow in the second round.

Wimbledon boys’ champion Searle continued his strong form on the grass with his first top 100 victory against USA’s Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 in two hours and 34 minute.

The 18-year-old saved break point at the start of the second set before going on to edge a close tie-break. Searle hit 37 winners in another impressive performance – breaking the world No.84 twice in the decider to see out a landmark win.

He’ll play Max Purcell in the final round of qualifying after the Australian beat Jan Choinski 7-6(4), 6-4.

27-year-old Hussey got his first top 100 win over 2023 Rothesay Open Nottingham runner-up Arthur Cazaux 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 and will play either Oscar Otte or Juncheng Shang in the next round.

Fresh off the announcement that he'll have a main draw wild card at Wimbledon this year, Rothesay Open Nottingham runner-up Broom knocked out Argentina's Francisco Comesana 6-4,3-6, 7-5. He'll play Australia's James McCabe for a spot in the main draw.

However, Britain’s Sarah Beth Grey lost to former world No.25 Anhelina Kalinina 6-1, 6-3.

21-year-old Arthur Fery was also defeated by Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 27 minutes.