Moore through to second round as Burrage bows out
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For the first time in two years, tennis returned to Nottingham Tennis Centre as the LTA’s Viking Open Nottingham main draw got under way on Sunday.
World No.476 Tara Moore won the day’s standout match, beating fellow Brit Eden Silva 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3).
Moore picked off where she left after yesterday’s qualifiers with her second win in as many days. She got off to a perfect start with a break in the third game, setting her up take a commanding one set lead. Silva then fought back, racing to a 3-0 lead before tying up the scores at one apiece.
She then pushed Moore to a tie break in the decider, but couldn’t hold off the 28-year-old who edged a narrow victory in front of the Centre Court crowd.
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She said: "It's the first time I've played in front of a crowd for a very long time. This is one of my favourite tournaments and I love playing in front of this crowd.
"Thank you to the LTA for giving me a last minute wildcard. It means a lot. This is my home town basically. I'm from Doncaster which isn't too far away. I love the North and I love playing in Nottingham."
In the first match of the day, Britain’s Jodie Burrage took on former quarter-finalist Kristie Ahn. Burrage flew out of the blocks, sealing the opening game with a booming ace and going on to win the next five in a row before clinching the first set 6-1.
Ahn found her feet in the second set and she started to show her quality. A late break in a decisive game at 4-3 gave her the boost she needed to take the second set 6-3.
Despite a strong performance from Burrage, the World No.123 completed her comeback after a couple of early breaks in the third rounded off a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
A disappointed Burrage said: "It was so great to be back in front of the crowd. They were really good today and really enjoyed it. As frustrated as I am to not win the match, the crowd were great and I'm really grateful we get this chance to play in front of them again."
In the final match of the day Sarah Beth Grey lost to Leonie Kung 6-2, 6-2.
With the first round of the ATP Challenger event kick starting tomorrow, several of the Brits were in action in the qualifying rounds for the main draw.
Anton Matusevich narrowly missed out on qualifying for his first ATP Challenger main draw following defeat to Ramkumar Ramanathan 2-6, 7-6 (1) 7-6 (5).
2015 Davis Cup champion James Ward lost out 6-3, 7-6 (9) to former World No.56, Marius Copil in the second match on Court 3.
Arthur Fery, playing at Nottingham for the first time in his career, then took on Australian star Matthew Ebden. Despite showing several glimpses of quality, the 18-year-old was defeated 6-3, 6-4.
Elsewhere, Alistair Gray battled hard against former World No.12 Victor Troicki before bowing out 7-6(3), 6-1.