Emma Raducanu’s Battle of Britain against Katie Boulter in Nottingham will resume with the former US Open champion a set in front… as the two stars put on a show that was more than worth the wait

For Emma Raducanu it would be the strangest day.

Arriving early in the morning in the pouring rain, she learned that her quarter-final opponent, Francesca Jones, had withdrawn due to a shoulder injury and left in the bitter cold of the night, one set away from her first-ever tour-level final on grass.

What came in between was spending hours in the players’ lounge as the rain continued to wreak havoc on the schedule.

But when she took to Center Court for her Battle of Britain semi-final against Katie Boulter, who is defending her crown here in Nottingham, it was a match well worth the five-hour wait.

Over a 79-minute opening set, the two jewels in the crown of British tennis hammered home point after point, with each rally seeming better than the last.

Raducanu then headed to Center Court for her Battle of Britain semi-final against Katie Boulter

Both thrived behind their own serves, but there were cheers from the crowd when Raducanu lost her balance after four points in the tiebreak, trailing 3-1 against Boulter, and banged her left knee.

She walked to her seat, apparently ready to wait for the physio, but jumped back up and pushed through. A quick nod to her coaching team showed her resilience.

And Raducanu, who is 164 places below Boulter in the world rankings and has not played in a Tour-level final since the 2021 US Open, came back impressively to set herself up with her first set point – the first of six – at 6 -5. with a stunning backhand winner on the court.

Boulter held firm and they exchanged set point chances before a misplay approaching the net seemingly handed the opener to Boulter at 10-9.

However, Raducanu tested her knee between the points, eventually capping off an exciting opening set with her sixth set point and winning with an overhead volley. The relief was palpable. It is only the second set Boulter has dropped in her last nine matches here.

As fans sat under the covers as the light faded and it grew cold, Raducanu had a lengthy on-court conversation with the chair umpire and the match referee about a problematic area of ​​the court along the service line.

Former US Open champion Raducanu holds a one-set lead as rain interrupts the match

With Raducanu publicly voicing her concerns, the match was abruptly halted and was due to conclude this morning, just hours before the women’s singles final, where the other finalist has yet to be determined after Diane Parry failed to draw against Karolina Pliskova to play. get started.

While there is guaranteed to be a Briton in Monday’s final in Nottingham, whether it is Raducanu or Boulter, it was a job in Stuttgart for Jack Draper as he progressed to his first ATP grass court final. Tour.

The 22-year-old Draper is having the week of his life after dethroning Cameron Norrie as British No. 1 and adding to it by beating American Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-3 in Stuttgart to set up a showpiece against former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Draper said. ‘I will do my best (in the final). “Everyone here is an incredible player, so if I come out and play like I always have, I’ll give myself a good chance (of winning).”