Ostapenko battles past Williams in Birmingham

Jelena Ostapenko prevailed in a battle of Grand Slam champions against Venus Williams to reach the last eight at the LTA's Rothesay Classic Birmingham. In a hard-fought encounter, Ostapenko was broken while serving for the match in the second set and was forced to a decider, but ultimately prevailed 6-3 5-7 6-3 against the American.

Ad Elsewhere, wildcard doubles pairing Freya Christie and Ali Collins pushed second seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Marta Kostyuk all the way in a tight encounter. TennisSkupski and Koolhof reach Queen's last four19 MINUTES AGO Collins and Christie were significant underdogs against Kostyuk and Krejcikova, the Czech being an 11-time Grand Slam winner across all three disciplines.

But the British pairing certainly proved their worth despite defeat, the second seeds having prevail in a deciding tiebreak in a 6-3 5-7 [10-5] victory on Court 1. Meanwhile, Krejcikova also sealed a quarter-final spot in the singles draw.

The Czech, the top seed in Birmingham, saw off compatriot Tereza Martincova 6-4 6-4 and will now face another Czech in the form of Linda Fruhvirtova in Friday's quarter-finals. Elsewhere, qualifier Magdalena Frech pulled off a shock as she defeated eighth seed Sorana Cirstea 6-3 6-7(1) 6-4 to set up a meeting against Ostapenko, while lucky loser Rebecca Marino battled past Emina Bektas 6-4 4-6 7-6(1).

While fourth seed Anastasia Potapova rallied from a set down to defeat Caty McNally 3-6 6-2 7-6(0) to progress. For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website Sportsbeat 2023 TennisKartal shocks seeded opponent in Ilkley29 MINUTES AGO WimbledonDjokovic to join Alcaraz, Rune at Hurlingham Tennis Classic to step up WImbledon preparations39 MINUTES