‘Super excited' McCartney Kessler triumphs at Nottingham Open
McCartney Kessler won a third WTA Tour title after becoming the Nottingham Open champion.
The American, who ended Briton Katie Boulter 's 13-match winning run at her home tournament in the quarter-finals, completed a perfect Wimbledon warm-up by beating Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 6-4 7-5 in showery conditions where rain caused a 90-minute delay.
She claimed her first title on grass and put herself in a great position heading to SW19, which starts next Monday.
The 25-year-old, who ousted top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round, broke her opponent's serve in the opening game, setting the tone for the match.
A second break immediately after a first rain break put her in control and she was on the brink of winning the first set when the rain came again, leading 5-4 30-15.
A lengthy delay of over an hour and half caused frustration but the American returned to finish off the first set quickly.
She put herself in position to win in a comfortable fashion with a break at 3-3 in the second set and then had five match points on Yastremska's serve.
But the Ukranian battled hard to keep it going and then broke when Kessler served for the title for the first time.
Kessler showed her mental fortitude, though, breaking straight back and then serving it out at the second attempt.
"I am super excited to have another title, another great week of tennis for me," she said. "She is a really tough competitor. It was a tighter second set than I wanted at 5-3, but it made it more exciting."
Yastremska lost her second final of the year but knows there is a bigger picture, due to the ongoing conflict in her home country.
"It's been also been a tough week with what was going on in Ukraine so I have had to deal with a lot of things this week," she said.
"I want to say I am proud of myself, I am improving some things I am working on. Not the win, but I hope soon, it's day-by-day."
2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova showcased her prowess on the grass by triumphing at the Berlin Open.
The Czech reigned supreme at SW19 two years ago and is again looking in good shape after winning a tight contest against Chinese Xinyu Wang 7-6 (10) 4-6 6-2.
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