Tatjana Maria booked a semi-final place in the Nature Valley Open by defeating Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.
The ninth seed beat the sixth seed 6-3 7-6(7) in the first outdoor match to be played at the tournament since Sunday’s qualifying matches.
Maria raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set as Tomljanovic struggled to find her feet on the formerly untouched Centre Court surface, before a 111mph ace finally got the Australian on the scoreboard.
Despite the next couple of games representing a more even battle, Maria withstood the pressure and the world number 56 took the set 6-3 as the spectators finally enjoyed some action.
It was Tomljanovic’s turn to take a three-game lead in the second set in spite of the rain that threatened proceedings, though a spirited comeback meant that Maria levelled the score to 3-3 and eventually took the game to a tiebreak.
The tie break was heavily contested as both players jostled for the lead, but it was Maria who held her nerve and ultimately won the match.
“I think it wasn’t easy for either of us,” said Maria. “We played the first match on grass after the two indoor matches, so I think it had me a little bit ahead as I played some matches on grass last week, so my start was better than hers.
“It was a tough match to the last ball because I had a lot of match points, but I couldn’t make it, but I was happy that I went through.”
The 31-year-old then shed light on how she has been enjoying her downtime with her family in what she described as “a really nice city”.
Maria added: “We went for walks even when it was raining to get some fresh air and my family likes it too so I’m really happy here.
“We went to the castle in the city, then we went to the shops. We had a coffee and we walked around a little bit, shopping for my daughter.”
