Boulter wins battle of the Brits to break new ground

Katie Boulter broke new ground on Friday as she edged a battle of the Brits against Harriet Dart to reach her first WTA semi-final at the LTA's Rothesay Open Nottingham. Leicester's Boulter, a graduate of the LTA's Pro Scholarship Scheme, edged out compatriot Dart 6-3 7-5 to reach the last four, having tasted defeat in all of her previous WTA-level quarter-finals.

Ad The 26-year-old was in control throughout most of the match, but had to fend off a fierce fightback from Dart towards the end of the match. TennisWatson battles way into all-British semi-final in NottinghamAN HOUR AGO Serving for the match at 5-3 up in the second set, Boulter missed a first match point and then missed three more match points when Dart served to stay in the contest.

However, the British No.1 held her nerve to restore her lead, and broke to seal victory. «I feel like I've worked so hard for this moment and overcome some really tough times,» said Boulter.

«It was an absolute battle out there, I think you could see how much it meant to me to get through that match. »I took a while to finish it, but it was an incredibly tough battle and an incredible achievement by both of us to be here." It has been a successful week for British players at the Nottingham Tennis Centre, with Boulter and Dart joined by Jodie Burrage and Heather Watson in the women's quarter-final line-up, while Andy Murray and George Loffhagen have reached the same stage of the men's event.

Boulter knows her quarter-final opponent well off-court, with the two players hitting regularly and being teammates in the Billie Jean King Cup squad that reached the semi-finals of the team competition last year. And she admitted that it was difficult to come up against a familiar opponent in