Katie Boulter looking ahead to Wimbledon after Nottingham exit

Katie Boulter decided to focus on the positives despite seeing her quest for a third straight title at the LTA's Lexus Nottingham Open end in the quarter-final. Boulter battled bravely but lost out to American McCartney Kessler 6-3 3-6 6-4 at centre court, ending not only Boulter's hopes of a hat-trick of successes but snapping her 12-match winning streak in Nottingham.

Yet despite defeat in the last eight, Boulter believes her performance provided plenty to take heart from. “I felt like I played some really good tennis,” said Boulter. “It’s unfortunate that I lost today but I actually think that was one of my better matches here.

“It's pretty ironic but it is what it is. I thought there some really good positives to take from it. I found my groove as we got to the set-all. I played one bad game in the first set and thought the rest of the match was a high performance from the both of us.

“I felt like the level out there was really good. It's been better than a lot of my matches. Just because I win a match doesn’t mean it was my best tennis and just because I lose a match doesn’t mean it was my worst tennis. I’m allowed to be beaten on the day and I felt like she [McCartney] did that. She’s a very good player and I’m positive her ranking will go higher and higher for the rest of the year.

“I played some really good stuff in the second and got unlucky in certain points but I played the game I wanted to play and normally I can and that was some of the best tennis I’ve played this year.” Boulter departs the Midlands less than a week away from the LTA's Lexus Eastbourne Open but she has already ruled out competing there.

Instead, Boulter has decided to switch her focus to ensuring that she heads to the lawns of SW19 at her absolute best physically and mentally. She added: “I haven’t thought too much about it yet but I’m not playing next week. If I was chasing points and rankings I would be but my plan is not to because I want to prioritise Wimbledon and that’s something I’ve never done before and I’d like to try something different.

“The odd match here and there would have been but I don’t think that’ll make a difference when I step out to Wimbledon. It’s now about getting work done in the next week and continuing to work on my physical game. It makes a massive difference and something I’ve never done before so I'd like to try it.

“I’ve always focused on getting a lot of matches before Wimbledon and getting as much time as I got on the grass and I don’t think that’s helped me a lot as I ran into Wimbledon on fumes mentally.” Boulter's battle with Kessler headlined an action-packed programme at Nottingham.

Earlier, Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska was the first player to reach the final four after taking down fifth seed and last year's Eastbourne runner-up Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6 (6). And sixth seed Magda Linette held off second seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to reach a career-first semi-final on grass.

Linette hardly broke a sweat in the first set but found herself fighting off a ferocious fightback from her opponent, who surged to a 5-2 lead in the second. The Pole proved herself more than up to the challenge, halting Tauson in her tracks by taking the last five games to advance.

Top seeds Shuai Zhang and Su-Wei Hsieh advanced to the semi-final in women's doubles after defeating Eri Hozumi and Aldila Sutjiadi 6-4 6-3. They next face fourth seeds Ena Shibahara and Anna Danilina, who eliminated Anastasia Detiuc and Bibiane Schoofs 7-6 (5) 6-3.

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website