Andy Murray admitted he wished he had played more lower-level tournaments after making it back-to-back finals at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

The former world number one won his second title of the season on the second-tier Challenger Tour in Surbiton last week and is aiming to repeat the feat at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

He is yet to drop a set this week and eased past Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3 6-2 in only 72 minutes for his ninth victory in a row.

It is now four years since Murray returned to action following his hip resurfacing operation and he is pushing to be seeded at a grand slam for the first time since then at Wimbledon in two weeks’ time.

“I probably wish I’d dropped down and played more at this level sooner,” said Murray. “I did play a few Challengers when I came back but maybe I should have stayed there a little bit longer.

“I’ve won against three or four top-100 players in this run. There’s been some good wins against experienced grass-court players.

“For me physically and mentally to get used to being in this situation more again has been really helpful. Now it’s up to me to try and carry that on at the higher level over the next few weeks.”

Murray will return to the top 40 on Monday but will need more wins at Queen’s Club next week to earn a Wimbledon seeding and the concern could be the number of matches he has played in a short amount of time.

The 36-year-old played down those worries, though, saying: “Yes, you could say number of matches is what’s important but it’s also the nature of those matches.

“Today’s match was an hour and a quarter and was not a particularly physical match.

“If I was training at Queen’s, I would have been on the practice court for a couple of hours today and I would have been in the gym.

“There’s obviously the mental stress of the matches and competing but quite a few of the matches have been pretty quick. Physically I feel fine just now.”

Murray had rated his quarter-final win over Dominic Stricker as his best performance of the run and he was clinical in the opening set against Borges, ranked 73.

The second was a little scrappier, with Murray dropping serve and facing break points in other games, but more of the pressure was on his opponent and the Scot managed to avoid making things complicated.

The victory completed another memorable day for the home players after Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage set up a very rare all-British final in the WTA event.

In the final, the Scot will take on 20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who defeated Dominik Koepfer 7-5 6-2.

“I’ve played a lot of youngsters recently and it’s always tough,” said Murray. “We practised with each other recently so hopefully (there are) not too many surprises.”

Andy Murray made it back-to-back finals with his ninth win in a row against Nuno Borges at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

The former world number one won his second title of the season on the second-tier Challenger Tour in Surbiton last week and is aiming to repeat the feat at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

He is yet to drop a set and rated his quarter-final victory over Dominic Stricker on Friday as his best performance of the fortnight.

The 36-year-old carried that form into Saturday’s meeting with Portuguese Borges, ranked 73, to win 6-3 6-2 in an hour and 12 minutes.

It completed another memorable day for the home players after Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage set up a very rare all-British final in the WTA event.

Murray broke Borges’ serve at the first opportunity and was clinical in the first set. The only blip came when he dropped serve after breaking early in the second but he put it behind him quickly and won the final four games.

“I thought the start of the match was really good,” said Murray. “The second set was quite scrappy I think from both ends.

“The second set wasn’t so good but the first set was high level, I was really happy with it. You’re not going to play your best all the time. There are going to be blips and I managed to deal with it OK.”

In the final, the Scot will take on 20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who defeated Dominik Koepfer 7-5 6-2.

“I’ve played a lot of youngsters recently and it’s always tough,” said Murray. “We practised with each other recently so hopefully not too many surprises.”

Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage will contest a first all-British WTA Tour final for 46 years at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham on Sunday.

Britain’s leading women have responded in style to criticism of the fact none of them were in the main draw at the French Open with the sort of week not seen since the 1970s when Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the game.

Three home players were in the last four for the first time on the main tour since 1975, and Boulter defeated compatriot Heather Watson 6-4 7-5 before Burrage saw off France’s Alize Cornet 7-5 7-5.

In the 50 years of the WTA Tour, the only previous all-British finals saw Barker and Wade split victories in Paris in 1975 and San Francisco two years later.

Boulter has cemented her new British number one status this week, beating Harriet Dart in the quarter-finals on Thursday and now getting the better of Watson.

The 26-year-old, from nearby Leicestershire, went into the week ranked 126 but has guaranteed she will be back in the top 100 next week for the first time since 2019.

At that stage, Boulter looked set to push on towards the top 50, only for a stress fracture in her back to rule her out for seven months, and it has been a long road back.

“I’ve got all the feelings right now,” said Boulter. “I feel like I’ve really worked for this. It’s not something that I’ve just been given and I feel proud of myself for that because I’ve worked above and beyond for these moments.

“I haven’t had many of them and that’s why it makes this one extra special. Hopefully I’m not done yet and I’ve got one more to go. I’m hungry for more, which is pretty exciting for me.

“I’m hungry to go play Birmingham, I’m hungry for the tournaments after that. I don’t want to stop. I don’t want to just win a couple of matches, I’ve got more to come.

“It’s so good to be back (in the top 100) and I really hope it’s a stepping stone to pushing back in and really giving it a shot, because I felt I didn’t get a full chance when I was ranked 80. I wanted to play a full year where I could have a swing and see what happens.”

Grass suits Boulter’s hard, flat hitting and she claimed a first set disrupted by a rain delay before fighting back from 4-1 down in the second to clinch victory over Watson, who has also had a confidence-boosting week.

There had been tension between Boulter and Dart at the net over the former’s celebration – which Boulter insisted was water under the bridge now – but here the two players shared a lengthy hug.

Boulter can set a new career-high ranking in the top 80 if she can emulate Johanna Konta and the late Elena Baltacha – after whom the trophy is named – by winning the title.

But Burrage is also having the best week of her career and impressed again with the quality of her groundstrokes in taking out the hugely experienced Cornet, who ended Iga Swiatek’s 37-match unbeaten run at Wimbledon last summer.

“I wasn’t expecting this coming into this week,” said Burrage, 24. “But I’m very, very happy with my performance today. It’s going to be an amazing day tomorrow. What an amazing tournament for both of us.”

Burrage would break the top 100 for the first time and overtake Boulter as British number one should she lift the trophy.

That would put both in a strong position to qualify for future grand slams by right, and Boulter said: “We were maybe a little bit too early to put some negative stuff out.

“It’s very easy to focus on one or two tournaments but I think, bigger picture, we’re in a great place and I’m happy to say that and stand by it.”

Katie Boulter booked her place in her first WTA Tour final and ensured she will return to the top 100 by beating compatriot Heather Watson at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

Boulter has cemented her new British number one status this week, beating Harriet Dart in the quarter-finals on Thursday and now getting the better of Watson with a 6-4 7-5 victory.

The 26-year-old, from nearby Leicestershire, went into the week ranked 126 but has guaranteed she will be back in the top 100 next week for the first time since 2019.

At that stage, Boulter looked set to push on towards the top 50, only for a stress fracture in her back to rule her out for seven months, and her progress has been stuttering since.

This was the first all-British semi-final at tour level since Sue Barker and Virginia Wade used to meet regularly in the latter stages of tournaments in the 1970s.

And it could yet be only the third all-British WTA final, with Jodie Burrage taking on Alize Cornet in the other semi-final.

Grass suits Boulter’s hard, flat hitting and she broke the Watson serve to lead 3-2 before a rain delay of an hour-and-a-half disrupted things.

Watson immediately broke back on the resumption, but, with both women complaining about line calls, Boulter moved ahead again before clinching the set.

Watson looked set to take it to a decider when she led 4-1 in the second set, but Boulter saved four break points in the sixth game to stay in contention and won six of the last seven games.

There had been tension between Boulter and Dart at the net over the former’s celebration, but here the two players shared a lengthy hug.

Boulter said: “It means so much to me, especially here. It was a really tough match. I just tried to put my heart on the line and managed to get through it in the end.

“I’ve worked so hard for this, me and my team. I’m just going to keep plugging away and, even if this isn’t my moment, that’s OK.”

Andy Murray completed a clean sweep of British victories on Nottingham’s Centre Court to make it through to the semi-finals of the Rothesay Open.

After Jodie Burrage, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson all reached the last four of the women’s event, Murray defeated Dominic Stricker 7-6 (2) 7-5 for his eighth-successive victory.

The 36-year-old is bidding to win a second-successive title on the second-tier Challenger Tour having triumphed in Surbiton last week and is yet to drop a set in Nottingham.

He said of the home success in his on-court interview: “Obviously this week’s been great. A couple of weeks ago we were hearing British tennis wasn’t doing well. Things change a lot on a week-to-week basis.

“You just want all of the players to reach their potential, make sure everyone’s working hard.

“Not everyone is going to win Wimbledon and grand slams but you just want to make sure everyone is making the most of this amazing opportunity to play tennis for a living.

“This week has obviously been brilliant, the women have done extremely well and hopefully that continues through the year. It should be a fun weekend for the British tennis fans.”

He did not have things all his own way against 20-year-old Swiss Stricker, with neither man able to create a break point in the opening set.

Murray played a fine tie-break to move in front, clenching his fist as he sat down in his chair, but it was Stricker who made the first move in the second set.

The eighth seed took his third chance to break for 3-1 only for Murray to respond straight away and Stricker then took a medical time-out for treatment to his back.

With the clock ticking past 8pm, Murray pushed for another break and finally got it, a Stricker backhand dropping wide to give his opponent the chance to serve for the match – and the Scot made no mistake.

Murray, who next faces Portugal’s Nuno Borges, feels he is heading firmly in the right direction, saying: “It was a really, really tight match today against one of the best young players in the world.

“He has a really good game, huge shots from the back of the court but also really nice touch up at the net.

“I’m really glad to get through that one because it was really close. That’s the best I’ve played across the last two weeks in terms of how I hit the ball and everything. It was really positive.”

Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart had a fiery exchange at the net after the British number one’s victory at the Nottingham Open.

Boulter completed a 6-3 7-5 win in the all-British match to reach her first WTA Tour-level semi-final, but as the players shook hands Dart had clearly taken exception to something.

She appeared to question her opponent’s professionalism, to which Boulter replied “It’s nothing personal. Mate, I do it every single match.”

Afterwards Boulter said in her on-court interview: “It was a battle out there. You could see how much it meant to me to get through that match.

“It’s awful playing a friend but I tried to play the ball and not the player. Today it was my day.”

Boulter was joined in the semi-finals by British number three Jodie Burrage, another debutant in the last four, after coming through a tight match against Poland’s Magdalena Frech.

The 24-year-old won five games in a row to take the first set, finishing it off with an ace.

But she looked up against it after requiring a medical time-out on her way to dropping the second, and fell a break down early in the third.

However, Burrage broke straight back and went on to clinch a 6-2 3-6 7-5 victory in two hours and 21 minutes.

“I’m absolutely knackered now,” she said on court. “I wish I could stop playing three-set matches, but if it gets me the win, then I’ve got to grind through it.

“It was a really tough match. I am feeling it a little bit and in the second set, I was thinking too much about that and not about the tennis. Then I picked it up in the third set.

“This week has given me so much confidence. To come out and make my first semi-final in a WTA event, the confidence it gives me is massive and I will take it through to the next tournaments.”

Andy Murray says he is in the best physical condition since his hip operation after racking up a seventh straight win to ease into the quarter-finals of the Rothesay Nottingham Open.

Murray won his first tournament in this country since his 2016 Wimbledon title when he triumphed at Surbiton last week and has continued his good form in the midlands, beating Frenchman Hugo Grenier 6-3 7-5.

The 36-year-old’s career was derailed by a hip resurfacing operation in 2018, where a metal insert replaced his bone, and he has battled fitness issues since.

But his movement on the Nottingham grass is looking as good as ever and he is feeling in good shape, despite the long run of matches.

“In terms of physically how I have been, the last six to nine months have been really good and that has been the best I have felt since my surgery, that is really positive,” he said.

“I am getting lots of matches in. I always feel really comfortable on the grass courts, so the next few weeks will be a good test for me.

“It is really hard to say if I’m playing my best level overall, I don’t know, because I mean absolutely no disrespect to the players I am playing against, I am aware they are very good players, but when you’re playing against guys who are in the top 10 in the world they are able to expose certain things in your game a little bit more as well.”

Murray will be hoping to stay in Nottingham for the rest of the week before returning to his happy hunting ground at Queen’s next week.

And the Scot hopes this is all good preparation for SW19 next month, where the two-time champion could be seeded again.

“It has been great to get lots of matches, you don’t know how this will impact in two or three weeks time, but I am doing my best to give myself the best preparation I can for Wimbledon,” he said.

“Hopefully I can perform well in the next few days and heading into Queen’s I will have definitely had a lot of matches.

“Granted it is not as high a level as Queen’s will be or the latter stages of Wimbledon, but it is building confidence and fitness and all of those things.”

Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart and Jodie Burrage helped create history as four British women are in the the quarter-finals of a WTA Tour event for the first time after their progression at the Rothesay Nottingham Open.

Boulter, who is Britain’s number one, battled past Ukrainian lucky loser Daria Snigur 7-5 6-3 while Dart enjoyed a fine 6-0 7-5 victory over fifth seed and world number 25 Anhelina Kalinina.

But perhaps Burrage’s victory was the most impressive as she beat world number 21 and Australian Open semi-finalist Magda Linette 7-5 6-3 in one of the best victories of her career and all three join Heather Watson in the last eight.

Burrage made it through to a first career quarter-final on the WTA Tour but hopes there may be more to come.

“I am feeling really good, I have won a few matches in the WTA but never got to the quarter-finals, so it feels really good to tick that off,” she said. “But there is still a lot left to go in the week and we’ll see what happens.

“When we are all doing well it really pushes everyone on, it is a bit daunting going on after the other two (Boulter and Dart) won, it was a little bit of pressure, but in the same breath it did help as well, but when you’re out on court you’re just wanting to win.”

Boulter and Dart will now play each other to ensure there will be at least one Brit in the semi-final on Saturday.

It is also the best home performance at Nottingham in the tournament’s current format and all three of those women will have realistic ambitions of following in Johanna Konta’s footsteps and winning it, as the now-retired former British number one did two years ago.

Boulter, who is from Leicester and staying at her house during this week, has never got past the quarter-finals here before.

“It’s funny because I feel like I have been one of the years I was a set up and had to pull out and there have been many times where I have been playing great but I have never been able to go all the way through,” she said.

“For me I feel very comfortable, I feel at home, I play some great stuff and hopefully I can keep that up. I am going to keep fighting and keep enjoying it and it is easy to forget to do those two things so that is my main goal.”

Boulter and Dart are part of a very close-knit British team, but the former is able to separate between friend and opponent.

“At the end of the day you are playing against a tennis ball, I don’t think it matters too much who that person is, you have to play the ball and what’s coming at you,” she added.

“That’s the way I see it. I don’t think it is going to be an easy match either way, I am looking forward to it. It’s not often you get to the quarter-finals at your home tournament so that’s all I’m concentrating on.”

Burrage will play Magdelena Frech while Watson, who booked her quarter-final spot on Wednesday, takes on Viktorija Golubic.

Australian Nick Kyrgios has revealed he was admitted to a psychiatric ward after contemplating suicide following a Wimbledon defeat to Rafael Nadal in 2019.

The often-controversial world number 25 said the second-round, four-set defeat to the Spaniard was the lowest point of his career.

“I was genuinely contemplating if I wanted to commit suicide,” Kyrgios, who wore a white sleeve on his right arm to hide tell-tale self-harm scars, told Netflix documentary Break Point.

“I lost at Wimbledon. I woke up and my dad was sitting on the bed, full-blown crying. That was the big wake-up call for me.

“I was like ‘OK, I can’t keep doing this’. I ended up in a psych ward in London to figure out my problems.

“I was drinking, abusing drugs, lost my relationship with my family, pushed all my close friends away.

“You could tell I was hurting. My whole arm was covered in scars. That’s why I actually got my arm sleeve. To cover it all.

“That pressure, having that all-eyes-on-you expectation, I couldn’t deal with it. I hated the kind of person I was.”

Heather Watson booked her place in the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open with a straight-sets win over her friend and former doubles partner Tatjana Maria on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Watson clinched a single crucial break in each set to wrap up a 6-4 6-4 win over the German, with whom she reached the last eight at Wimbledon in 2018.

Prior to play on Wednesday a minute’s silence was held on Centre Court in memory of the three people who were killed in attacks in the city early on Tuesday.

It was a notable win for Watson against a player currently ranked 129 places higher in the world rankings, as she aims to emulate last year’s grass-court success that included a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Watson, who next plays world number 99 Viktorija Golubic, told the BBC: “I came through qualifying and each match I’ve got a bit better but there’s more to come.

“Tatjana is my best friend on tour, we have played doubles together and spent a lot of time together. It’s never easy to play a friend but at the same time it’s really special sharing a court with her.”

Liam Broady suffered a disappointing 7-6 (4) 6-4 defeat to Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro, while world number 409 Arthur Fery fell 6-4 6-2 to fifth seed Dominik Koepfer.

Fresh from his win at the Surbiton Trophy last week, Andy Murray starts his campaign against Hugo Grenier on Thursday as he targets the ranking points that could see him earn a seeding at Wimbledon.

New number one Katie Boulter insists the standard of women’s British tennis is high despite a notable absence in the main draw at the recent French Open.

Boulter, who replaced Emma Raducanu as the highest ranked British player this week, was one of a number of players who missed out in qualifying at Roland Garros, meaning Britain was not represented in a women’s draw at a grand slam for the first time since 2009.

There are a host of players ranked outside of the top 100 and Boulter, who began her reign at the summit of the rankings with a routine 6-1 6-3 win over Emily Appleton at the Rothesay Nottingham Open, says the quality is there.

“I have come through British tennis for a long time and I have seen the ups and the downs and there is always going to be that,” she said. “We had a grand slam champion (Raducanu) two years ago and unfortunately this year she has got a few injuries and we wish her well.

“But we are in a place where we have the most amount of girls in between 100 and 200 that can really push on.

“For the first time we have that, we might not be top 100 right now but every one of us who are playing these tournaments can be and have shown that we can be. That is exciting and it’s a positive for all of us.”

Boulter will only remain number one if she reaches the quarter-finals in her home tournament this week and she is relishing the battle, with the likes of Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart and Katie Swan also vying for the spot.

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“How good is that? We have four or five girls who are playing some really good tennis and it is going to be extremely exciting for a lot of the British fans to watch over the summer,” Boulter added.

“I hope it can spur us on. I am a very process-orientated girl, I don’t think I am huge on watching what other people do, I have to stay in my own little bubble.

“I wish the girls the best of luck, I hope they get many, many wins over the summer, I’ll keep focusing on myself and we’ll find out who is going to be doing well.”

The tournament in Nottingham has been overshadowed by the tragic events in the city, where three people were killed and another three hospitalised, and Boulter sent her best wishes.

“I am staying at home, I am very lucky in that aspect,” she said. “Obviously it is awful to wake up to. I don’t really have much social media at the moment but a couple of people who are staying with me in my team told me there was a lot going on so my thoughts go out to all those people and I hope everyone can stay safe.

“Hopefully tomorrow is a better day.”

Both Dart and Burrage progressed to the last 16 with impressive wins.

Dart saw off Canada’s Rebecca Marino 6-4 6-2 while Burrage beat Tereza Martincova 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-6 (4).

However, Swan exited the tournament at the first stage, going down in three sets to Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, who won 2-6 6-1 6-4.

Elsewhere in the tournament, defending champion and recent French Open semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia suffered a surprise defeat to Ukrainian lucky loser Daria Singer, going down 6-4 6-3.

Nick Kyrgios’ return to tennis ended in defeat after he was beaten in straight sets by Wu Yibing at the Stuttgart Open.

The Australian was competing in his first singles tournament since October last year and has been sidelined since then following his recovery from knee surgery.

Kyrgios has previously reached the Stuttgart semi-final stages twice and he entered this year’s competition as eighth seed.

However, after appearing to be struggling physically throughout the match, he was beaten 7-5 6-3 by Wu in the first round on Tuesday.

“The last time I played on grass was juniors back in 2017, so six years,” Wu told the ATP website.

“I was really happy to play Nick in the first round. He’s one of the best players on grass and he served well.

“He aced me [so many] times. The key for me was to stay cool, stay patient in the game and find a way. I’m happy [with that result].”

A win means Wu will face qualifier Marton Fucsovics in the second round after the Hungarian came from behind to beat Denis Shapovalov 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Jan-Lennard Struff got off to a winning start with a 6-1 6-4 win against Zhizhen Zhang to set up a meeting against fifth seed Tommy Paul, who beat Benjamin Bonzi 6-3 6-4.

The Nottingham Open is set to commence as planned on Tuesday despite what police described as an “horrific and tragic incident” in the city centre.

A number of roads are closed following the arrest of a man on suspicion of murder after three people were found dead – two in Ilkeston Road and then a man in Magdala Road.

Tournament organisers announced that play will go ahead as scheduled at 11am, but warned spectators to expect delays en route.

An LTA statement read: “Spectators should be aware of travel disruption around Nottingham city centre this morning due to a police incident.

“Play will commence at 11am as normal, but please be aware your travel may take longer than normal.”

Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “This is a horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people.

“We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody.

“This investigation is at its early stages and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened.

“We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses.”

Heather Watson says it is difficult not to feel “hard done by” after a year of struggle on the tour following her career-best Wimbledon performance last season.

The 31-year-old produced the best grand slam display of her singles career in 2022 when she made the second week for the first time, eventually going out in the fourth round.

But it counted for nothing in the rankings as the WTA and ATP stripped the tournament of points in response to the decision to ban Russian and Belarussian players following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

In normal circumstances Watson would have received 240 points, which would have seen her ranking soar and then seen her gain automatic entry into other tournaments, but the reality saw her scratching around on the second-tier ITF Tour and she has not played in a grand slam since.

“It wasn’t Wimbledon’s fault, it wasn’t their choice but yeah, I do feel a little bit hard done by,” Watson, who beat Jule Niemeier in the first round at the Nottingham Open, told the PA news agency.

“It’s not their fault, but I wish I had the points, it would have been a very different story, but hey-ho.

“I feel like that after Wimbledon I went from an all-time high in my career and then not being awarded any points there really affected my tournament entries, being main draw in grand slams, I probably would have been main draw for the rest of the year and it just had a domino effect.

“I couldn’t get into WTA tournaments so I was playing ITFs and I was winning them all but the points are rubbish so it doesn’t help my ranking at all.

“You are playing top 100 girls in the ITF and I feel like dropping down to play was good for matches and you were playing players who aren’t the same level, but the strength in depth in women’s tennis has grown so much. Rankings-wise it has been a real rubbish year but I have actually won more matches.”

Her win over Niemeier in Nottingham will do little to boost her current ranking of 195, which will leave her needing a wild card if she is to get direct entry into this year’s event at SW19.

Asked whether she will have to qualify, she said: “I don’t know, I have applied for a wild card so I hope I get one.”

Fellow Brit Sonay Kartal is out, though, after a three-set loss to Pole Magdalena Frech.

The British number eight fought back after losing the first set, but Frech came on strong in the decider to ease through 6-3 5-7 6-2.

Top seed and world number eight Maria Sakkari beat Xiyu Wang 6-2 7-6 (6).

There are a host of home players in action on Tuesday, with new British number one Katie Boulter, who has taken over from Emma Raducanu, takes on compatriot Emily Appleton, with Harriet Dart, Katie Swan and Jodie Burrage also due on court.

Andy Murray will also be in action in the men’s Challenger event, fresh from his win at Surbiton last week.

Murray claimed his first title on home soil since Wimbledon in 2016 and is looking to build on that ahead of next month’s event at SW19.

The 36-year-old took part in a light practice on Monday with coach Ivan Lendl by his side.