Australia's Stosur knocked out in Nottingham
Sam Stosur was knocked out of the WTA Wimbledon warm-up event in Nottingham on Thursday.
LONDON (AFP) - Australia s former US Open champion Sam Stosur was knocked out of the WTA Wimbledon warm-up event in Nottingham on Thursday after suffering a straight sets defeat by Britain s Katie Boulter.
The British number four reached her first WTA quarter-final with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 win over Stosur, the champion in New York in 2011.
It was one of the most significant victories of the 21-year-old s career, who has been on an upward curve in 2018 as she looks to improve on a world ranking of 156.
Boulter face either top-seed Ashleigh Barty or China s Duan Ying-Ying in the last eight.
"It s really exciting," Boulter told Eurosport. "It s a huge step for me. She s a Grand Slam winner, and it s the first one of those that I ve beaten.
"It was a really quick second set but I dug in really deep in the first. I thought I held my nerve really well and found a way to win."
Boulter will not be the only home hope in the quarter-finals after Johanna Konta won through in an all-British contest against Heather Watson.
Konta and Watson have long been Britain s two leading female tennis players and, as in their previous WTA meeting in Indian Wells last year, it was Konta who emerged victorious on a day when a blustery wind made conditions difficult.
Although Konta won in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), she was 4-1 down in the second before edging the tie-break.
"One hundred percent it was not easy and conditions made it that much harder," said Konta. "It s never easy to play a compatriot. I just tried to keep my focus on my side of the court.
"I feel fortunate to come through, there was very little in it."
Fourth-seed Konta, who reached last year s Nottingham final, will play Slovenia s Dalila Jakupovic in the quarter-finals.
