Nottingham, United Kingdom, 21 June 2021 | Leigh Rogers

NOTTINGHAM, UK

Australian Alex Bolt has won his third career ATP Challenger title – and earned himself a Wimbledon main draw wildcard.

The 28-year-old fought back from an early deficit and navigated rain delays to overcome world No.112 Kamil Majchrzak of Poland in the Nottingham final. Bolt served 12 aces in his 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory.

It caps a stellar week for Bolt, who had entered the tournament on a nine-match losing streak. He won seven matches after coming through qualifying and has been rewarded with a coveted Wimbledon main draw wildcard.

“The European trip for me hasn’t gone to plan. Before this week, I haven’t won a match since February. It means everything to win here and to get the Wimbledon wildcard is just unbelievable,” Bolt said.

“Once I got the first win, the confidence came back into my game and it just got stronger and stronger as the tournament went on.”

It will be Bolt’s second main draw appearance at Wimbledon, having previously qualified in 2018.

World No.64 Alison Van Uytvanck proved too strong for Australia’s Arina Rodionova in the women’s singles final, scoring a 6-0 6-4 victory.

It snapped a six-match winning streak for the 31-year-old Rodionova, who had advanced to the biggest singles final of her career this week as a qualifier.

Aussies in action – Nottingham

RESULTS
Men’s singles, final
[Q] Alex Bolt (AUS) d Kamil Majchrzak (POL) 4-6 6-4 6-3

Women’s singles, final
[1] Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) d [Q] Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-0 6-4

QUEEN’S CLUB, UK

French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut claimed the doubles title at an ATP 500 tournament at Queen’s Club this week, ending the winning run of Australian John Peers and American Reilly Opelka in the final.

It was a third finals appearance at the London tournament for the 32-year-old Peers, who had previously finished runner-up in 2014 and won the title in 2018.

Peers and Opelka had advanced to the final with a 7-6(3) 6-3 victory over Australian Alex de Minaur and Brit Cameron Norrie earlier in the day from their rain-delayed semifinal.

Aussies in action – Queen’s Club

RESULTS
Men’s doubles, semifinals
John Peers (AUS)/Reilly Opelka (USA) d Alex de Minaur (AUS)/Cameron Norrie (GBR) 7-6(3) 6-3

Men’s doubles, final
[4] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) d John Peers (AUS)/Reilly Opelka (USA) 6-4 7-5

BIRMINGHAM, UK

Ellen Perez’s quest to win a third career WTA doubles title this week fell just short.

The 25-year-old Australian and Tunisian partner Ons Jabeur were beaten in the final of a WTA 250 tournament in Birmingham.

Czech combination Marie Bouzkova and Lucie Hradecka recorded a 6-2 4-6 [10-8] victory in the championship match.

Aussies in action – Birmingham

RESULTS
Women’s doubles, final
Marie Bouzkova (CZE)/Lucie Hradecka (CZE) d Ellen Perez (AUS)/Ons Jabeur (TUN) 6-2 4-6 [10-8]

https://twitter.com/TennisAustralia/status/1406726806720290816?s=20

EASTBOURNE, UK

James Duckworth has qualified for an ATP 250 tournament in Eastbourne, winning his second straight-sets match in as many days.

The 29-year-old Australian’s first-round opponent is compatriot Max Purcell, who snared a lucky loser spot after his three-set loss to No.3 seed Ilya Ivashka in the final qualifying round. It is the 23-year-old Purcell’s fourth career appearance in a singles main draw at tour-level.

Italian Camila Giorgi, a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist, ended Ajla Tomljanovic’s qualifying hopes with a 7-5 6-3 victory in their final-round meeting.

Aussies in action – Eastbourne

RESULTS
Men’s qualifying singles, final round
[5] James Duckworth (AUS) d [WC] Alastair Gray (GBR) 6-3 7-6(4)
[3] Ilya Ivashka (BLR) d Max Purcell (AUS) 6-7(6) 6-2 6-1

Women’s qualifying singles, final round
Camila Giorgi (ITA) d [12] Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 7-5 6-3

COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
[2] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Bye
John Millman (AUS) v [WC] Jay Clarke (GBR)
Alexei Popyrin (AUS) v [9] Cameron Norrie (GBR)
[Q] James Duckworth (AUS) v [LL] Max Purcell (AUS)

Women’s singles, first round
[WC] Sam Stosur (AUS) v [Q] Viktorija Golubic (SUI)

Men’s doubles, first round
Max Purcell (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) v [WC] Lloyd Glasspool (GBR)/Harri Heliovaara (FIN)
John Peers (AUS)/John-Patrick Smith (AUS) v Alexander Bublik (KAZ)/Nicholas Monroe (USA)

Women’s doubles, first round
Sam Stosur (AUS)/Coco Vandeweghe (USA) v Lyudmyla Kichenok (UKR)/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN)

MALLORCA, SPAIN

Australia’s Jordan Thompson has made a winning start at an ATP 250 tournament in Mallorca this week.

The 27-year-old scored a 2-6 7-6(4) 6-2 opening-round victory against Spanish veteran Pablo Andujar, avenging a loss to the 35-year-old from last month.

Thompson, who served 14 aces in the two-hour and 25-minute match, was forced to dig deep and saved a match point in the second set. He faces either eighth-seed Serbian Dusan Lajovic or Slovak qualifier Lukas Klein in the second round.

Aussies in action – Mallorca

RESULTS
Men’s singles, first round
Jordan Thompson (AUS) d Pablo Andujar (ESP) 2-6 7-6(4) 6-2

COMING UP
Men’s singles, second round
Jordan Thompson (AUS) v TBC