Andy Murray, representing Britain, secured a spot in his second successive grass-court final at the Nottingham Open by defeating Portugal's Nuno Borges in the semi-finals. The 36-year-old Murray recently claimed the Surbiton Trophy, his first title in Britain since 2016, and he is now set to face French qualifier Arthur Cazaux in the final.
Cazaux, aged 20 and ranked 181st in the world, managed to overcome fifth seed Dominik Koepfer to reach the championship match. On the women's side, Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage will compete in an all-British WTA final, a historic occurrence not witnessed since 1977.
Reflecting on his victory over Borges, Murray stated, "You come here to enjoy the tennis, but ultimately you want to win the tournament." He completed a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over the third seed and world number 73. Murray acknowledged his upcoming opponent, saying, "I practised with him [Cazaux] a few weeks ago, he is a top young French player, so it will be a good one."
Murray praised the quality of the tournament, particularly the exceptional grass courts, and credited the groundsman and their team for their work. The British player currently ranks 44th in the world and aims to break into the top 32 before Wimbledon commences on July 3rd. With a nine-match winning streak and not having dropped a set in the last six matches, including all four in Nottingham, Murray has displayed formidable form.
Following the Nottingham Open final, Murray's next tournament will be the Queen's Club Championships in London. In the opening round, he will face seventh seed Alex de Minaur, the 18th-ranked player from Australia, whom Murray has yet to defeat in their three previous encounters.
In other tennis news, British player Neal Skupski and his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof emerged victorious in the men's doubles at the Libema Open in Rosmalen, the Netherlands. They defeated Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the final with a score of 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. At the Nottingham Open, an all-British men's doubles final saw Jacob Fearnley and Johannus Monday prevail over Liam Broady and Jonny O'Mara, clinching a 6-3, 6-7 (10-7) win. Additionally, the Stuttgart Open in Germany witnessed Francis Tiafoe of the United States and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany advance to the final after triumphing in their respective semi-final matches.