British 17-year-old Xu wins on WTA debut in Nottingham; Linette bests Eala
British wild card Mingge Xu, 17, delivered a superb performance on her WTA main-draw debut in the Lexus Nottingham Open to upset Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour and 27 minutes.
The result was No. 350-ranked Xu's second career Top 100 win, both of which have come in this year's grass-court swing. Two weeks ago, she knocked out No. 1 seed Alycia Parks in the first round of the Birmingham WTA 125 en route to the quarterfinals. Xu -- known to most as Mimi -- is one of three British teenagers who have reached the junior Top 10 in the past year, alongside US Open girls' champion Mika Stojsavljevic and Roland Garros junior finalist Hannah Klugman, and the first of the trio to win a tour-level match.
Against Volynets, Xu showed off a well-rounded game and a composed mentality. She was comfortable engaging in extended exchanges with Volynets, the No. 96-ranked American whose baseline consistency is her trademark, and the pair frequently traded blows for up to 23 shots at a time. But it was more often Xu who found an extra gear or touch of creativity to break those rallies open.
The teenager's willingness to use slice and ease around the net stood out, as did two particular highlights: a perfectly weighted lob on the run midway through the first set, and the combination of a drop shot, sliced lob and forehand pass with which she sealed that set.
Xu will next face 33-year-old No. 6 seed Magda Linette, who advanced 6-4, 6-3 over another teenager, qualifier Alexandra Eala. The 19-year-old Filipina, who turned heads with a run to the Miami semifinals in March, was playing the first tour-level match of her career on grass, and made a bright start by winning the first 12 points in a row.
But from 3-0 down, Linette found her rhythm to reel off the next five games, and was largely in control for the rest of the match. Eala put up a valiant fight in the final game, saving the first four match points against her with clean winners, but Linette swatted away a return winner on the fifth to put the match to rest.
Xu's victory highlighted a strong day for home players. A week after four Britons made the second round of Queen's, the same number have progressed to that stage of Nottingham. British No. 1 Katie Boulter, the defending champion, raced past 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Sun 6-2, 6-2; Sonay Kartal defeated Leolia Jeanjean 6-3, 6-4; and Francesca Jones, a quarterfinalist here last year, triumphed in a battle of home wild cards 7-5, 6-4 over Harriet Dart. Boulter will next face Kartal, while Jones will take on No. 7 seed Linda Noskova.
