Nature Valley Open: Konta seals second straight semi-final spot in Nottingham

Home crowds had plenty to cheer about on quarter-finals day at the Nature Valley Open, as Johanna Konta and Dan Evans filled final-four spots.

British No.1 Konta reached the Nature Valley Open semi-finals after easing past Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic, 6-4, 6-2 in 77 minutes. The 2017 Wimbledon semi-finalist said: “It was a tough match. When you play an opponent you haven’t played before, there are some things that are unpredictable. I definitely felt some of those challenges today and the conditions were also still a bit tricky. It’s not easy playing out there [in the wind] but it’s the same for everyone. Overall I’m happy with the way I kept fighting.”

The result sets up a rematch of last year’s final in Nottingham against defending champion Donna Vekic. The 2017 three-set thriller went in Vekic’s favour, but Konta avenged the defeat at Wimbledon just a few weeks later.

“We had two great battles last year and I know she plays very well on this surface,” Konta said. “It will be a really tough challenge for me, but it’s a great opportunity for me to keep fighting and raising my level with each match that I play.”

Earlier in the day, Katie Boulter’s brilliant run, which saw her reach her maiden WTA singles quarter-final, was brought to an end as she fell 6-0, 6-2 to an in-form Ashleigh Barty. The Australian top seed will go on to play Naomi Osaka in the opening WTA semi-final clash on Saturday.

In the ATP Challenger tournament, Dan Evans reached the semi-finals after defeating Canadian qualifier Brayden Schnur 7-6(5), 6-3. The Davis Cup champion saved a set point in a marathon first set that lasted just under an hour, before he closed out the match in front of a packed Court 1.

“The crowds have been great. It’s definitely the loudest crowd I’ve heard in Britain for a long time. They’ve been really good,” Evans said. 

He will next face Spaniard Marcel Granollers for a spot in the final. The players have met just once before, with the win going in the Brit’s favour as he enjoyed victory en route to the 2017 Sydney International final: “It was difficult,” Evans said. “He played well. He was pretty loose but I thought I did a good job today. It was my toughest match so far, so I had to concentrate hard. It wasn’t easy out there as it was pretty slow.

British wild card James Ward was denied a semi-final place as he fell 6-4, 6-3 to Belarusian fourth seed Ilya Ivashka. Ivashka goes on to face last week’s Fuzion 100 Surbiton Trophy finalist Alex de Minaur after his 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win over Canadian Peter Polansky.

In doubles, Britain's Joe Salisury and his Danish partner Frederik Nielsen defeated British top seeds Ken and Neal Skupski. The pair battled back from a set down to take the second set and an epic championship tie-break 2-6, 7-6(4), [15-13]. They will take on fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in Saturday's final.