BIRMINGHAM, England — Britain’s Katie Boulter couldn’t bring along her title-winning form to the Birmingham Classic.
Two days after winning her first WTA title at the Nottingham Open, Boulter lost in the first round of another grass-court event on home soil, falling 7-5, 7-5 to Lin Zhu of China.
Fellow Briton Jodie Burrage was the runner-up in Nottingham and also lost early in Birmingham, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 to compatriot Harriet Dart.
Second-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia beat Linda Noskova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, while top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova‘s first-round match with Cristina Bucsa was held over until Wednesday.
Russian player Anastasia Potapova beat Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4. They also met in March at the Miami Open, where Kostyuk declined to shake Potapova’s hand after losing as the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spilled over into tennis.
Also in Birmingham, eighth-seeded Sorana Cirstea and Magdalena Frech advanced to the second round.