Alicia Dudeney led a strong day for British players on day three of the Lexus Wrexham Open, joining Jodie Burrage and Hannah Klugman in reaching Friday’s quarter-finals.
The in-form Dudeney extended her winning run to seven matches in the World Tennis Tour W100 event at the Wrexham Tennis and Padel Centre. She outlasted seventh seed Susan Bandecchi of Switzerland 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 in a match lasting two hours and 51 minutes. Dudeney will now face French player Elsa Jacquemot in the last eight.
Dudeney was followed into the Carden Park Arena by Klugman, who produced another excellent performance to beat higher-ranked Czech player Anna Siskova 6-2 6-4. The 17-year-old reached the French Open junior girls’ final last year and is currently ranked 341. She will now play sixth seed Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia.
Burrage ensured there would be three British players in action on Friday by beating fourth seed Noma Noha Akugue 6-1 7-6 (11-9). She will next play Marina Bassols Ribera, the fifth seed, who earlier beat Australian Lizette Cabrera.
There was a major upset elsewhere as top seed Anna Blinkova, the French player currently ranked 72 in the world, lost 6-3 6-2 to Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands at the second-round stage.
The form of the British trio has helped lift home fans after reigning champion Mimi Xu, from Swansea, chose not to defend her title this year. Instead, she competed at the W75 Saguenay tournament in Canada.
Wrexham Open schedule
- Friday, 23 October: Quarter-finals (singles) and semi-finals (doubles)
- Saturday, 24 October: Semi-finals (singles)
- Sunday, 25 October: Singles final and doubles final
Previous winners
- 2022: Marketa Vondrousova (Cze)
- 2023: Viktorija Golubic (Swi)
- 2024: Sonay Kartal (GB)