Alicia Dudeney leads British title-winners in second week at Lexus British Pro Series Nottingham
• 3 minute read
A fortnight of international tennis in Nottingham came to an end this weekend, as British players claimed three further trophies at the Lexus British Pro Series Nottingham at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre.
In the women’s singles, 22-year-old Alicia Dudeney claimed her third title of the season, equalling her career-best trophy to date.
After a tense three-setter in her opening round, Dudeney showed the rest of the field why she was the top seed, reaching the final without dropping a set to face fifth seed and fellow Brit Emily Appleton.
Dudeney continued her hot streak through to the finish, completing a 6-3, 7-5 over her compatriot.
The Briton is set to enter the WTA top 300 for the first time after her win in Nottingham, and after the match, Dudeney spoke of her time playing college tennis in the US preparing her for life on tour.
“You play tough matches every weekend," she said. "So having that experience definitely prepared me for the week in, week out tournaments and being able to grip through when in gets tough.”
In the men’s singles, Anton Matusevich enjoyed another strong week, but fell just short of winning back-to-back titles, losing out to American Braden Shick 7-6(2), 6-4 in the final.
His performances mean he’s set to rise over 100 places in the ATP rankings once they update next week.
It was double delight across the men’s and women’s doubles once again. After Brits claimed both titles the previous week, Freya Christie continued her rich vein of form to claim her third consecutive doubles title, this time pairing with Slovenia’s Kristina Novak.
The No.1 seeds dropped just 10 games all week, rounding off with a 6-4, 6-2 win over second seeds Amelia Rajecki and Victoria Allen.
In the men’s doubles, Tom Hands and Finn Murgett battled hard throughout the week, saving match points on two occasions and coming through three match tie-breaks to reach the final, before defeating the British-American pair of James Mackinlay and Karl Polling 6-4, 6-2.
After the win, Murgett said, “It’s been a really good week with Tom. We’ve never played together but we’ve gelled really well on the court and found some really good levels in some really tough matches.”
LTA Tournament Director Richard Joyner said, “A huge congratulations to all our winners this week at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre. After a high-quality first week of action, players have delivered more exceptional performances on court, and for Brits to have taken home a total of seven titles across the whole fortnight is a fantastic result for our homegrown talent. A thank you as always to the staff at the Centre, who have helped to deliver another great tournament.”
Attention now turns to the summer grass court season in Nottingham, as the city prepares for the Lexus Nottingham Open. Last week, we announced that American rising star Iva Jovic will take to the grass courts, with more names set to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Tickets are still available for this summer’s Lexus Nottingham Open, with Centre Court tickets starting from £14 for adults and £6 for kids, and grounds admission tickets starting at £12 for adults and kids for free.
