Wild card Alex Ward made the most out of his direct entry to the Nature Valley Nottingham Open as he fought back from a set and a break down to defeat Liam Broady.
Ward, who qualified for Wimbledon last year, also recovered from a match point down to defeat Broady 2-6 6-4 7-6 in a marathon match that lasted over two hours. After taking the opening set after just half an hour, Broady was seemingly in control as he took a commanding 6-2 2-0 lead. However Ward was able to break back and withheld the pressure on his own serve to take the match to a decider.
For the third successive set, the world number 327 found himself on the back foot, allowing Broady to take a 3-1 lead. However, the Mancunian was unable to serve it out and, after saving a match point in the tie break, Ward was able to come through and take the victory.
Elsewhere, George Loffhagen’s ATP Challenger debut ended in defeat after he lost 3-6 6-1 6-3 to the experienced Peter Polansky.
British qualifier guaranteed in Fuzion 100 Manchester Trophy
There will be at least one British qualifier in the main draw of the Fuzion 100 Manchester Open as both Eden Richardson and Victoria Allen produced stunning results in the northern sun.
After claiming an excellent victory over 5th qualifying seed Tammi Patterson yesterday, 17 year-old Victoria Allen eased past American Eva Siska to win 6-3 6-2. Eden Richardson was given a much tougher match against 4th qualifying seed Sophie Chang, but managed to dig deep to win 1-6 6-1 7-6, guaranteeing a British qualifier.
Alicia Barnett was the third and final Brit to make it to tomorrow’s final qualifying round. She stunned top seed Asia Muhammad 6-2 5-7 6-3 to set up a match-up against Mariam Bolkvadze of Georgia. The Manchester Trophy is a $100,000 ITF event – the biggest on the ITF circuit – and qualification would be a huge feat for the British hopefuls.
Meanwhile, the main draw was made on Monday, with home favourite Naomi Broady facing a tricky prospect in Ons Jabeur in the opening round. Here’s who the Brits will face:
Emily Appleton v Marie Bouzkova
Sara Beth Grey v Qualifier
Naomi Broady (7) v Ons Jabeur
Katy Dunne v Nicole Gibbs (4)
Emma Raducanu v Harriet Dart
Samantha Murray v Luksika Kumkhum (2)
British spectacle set for day two of Nottingham Open
If you’re heading to Nottingham tomorrow for the second day of the Nature Valley Nottingham Open, you’ll be in for a treat as the courts will be filled with British hopefuls. The order of play has been announced, with Jo Konta headlining Centre Court, whilst British fans might want to arrive early and claim a space on Court 1, where four hopefuls will compete for a place in the second round.
Centre Court (from 12 noon)
(1) Cameron Norrie v Tatsuma Ito
(1) Ash Barty v Stefanie Voegele
(WC) James Ward v (Q) Tobias Simon
(4) Johanna Konta v Kurumi Nara
Court 1 (from 11am)
Heather Watson v (Q) Danielle Lao
Mona Barthel v (Q) Katie Swan
(6) Donna Vekic v (WC) Gabi Taylor
Jonathan Erlich/Jurgen Melzer v Alexander Bublik/Michael Mmoh
Yanina Wickmayer v (WC) Katie Boulter
Court 2 (from 11am)
(PR) Jurgen Melzer v (2) Alex de Minaur
(WC) Sam Stosur v (7) Zarina Diyas
Adrian King v (SE) Dan Evans
Selected matches
Ken Skupski/Neal Skupski v Jason Jung/Evan King (5th on Ct 2)
(Q) Tobias Kamke v (WC) Jay Clarke (2nd on Ct 3)
The Big Racket 