Donna vekic in semis of the 2018 Nottingham open

NOTTINGHAM, Great Britain
She won the title a year ago, and Donna Vekic is back in the semifinals at the Nature Valley Open.

The No.6 seed eased past Germany's Mona Barthel in the last eight in Nottingham on Friday, as the reigning champion booked a place in her first semifinal of the season, 7-5, 6-1.

Donna vekic conquer's of the Aegon Open Nottingham 2017.

NOTTINGHAM, England 
Unseeded Donna Vekic stormed to her first WTA title in over three years at the Aegon Open in Nottingham on Sunday, coming from a set down to beat top seed Johanna Konta in the final, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-5.

The Croatian burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old in 2012, when she reached her first WTA final in Tashkent, and won her first career title just over 18 months later at the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur. However, in the seasons since, the Croatian struggled to replicate her early success as a teenager, and reaching the final in Nottingham marked her first appearance in a WTA final in a year and a half.

A season ago, Vekic was ranked outside the top 100 and lost her opening round match in Nottingham to Great Britain's Tara Moore, but will see her ranking rise to a new career-high of No.58 as a result of her efforts this week. 

"It's pretty amazing and I'm really, really happy," Vekic said. "Jo played amazing and she's having an amazing year, but I was just trying to focus on myself, serve and good as I can and be aggressive, which is not easy against her. 

Johanna Konta into final of the Aegon Open Nottingham 2017

NOTTINGHAM, England - Britain's No.1 Johanna Konta edged past Magdalena Rybarikova in straight sets to reach her first WTA grass court final at the Aegon Open Nottingham,  6-2, 7-5. 

She'll face the winner between No.5 seed Lucie Safarova and Donna Vekic in the final. 

Johanna Konta into QF of the Aegon Open Nottingham 2017

NOTTINGHAM, England
Johanna Konta reached the quarterfinals of the Aegon Open on Thursday, beating Yanina Wickmayer 6-4, 6-1.

The 26-year-old benefited from a shortened first-round match against Tara Moore after her fellow Briton retired early through injury but didn't have that luxury on this occasion.

The British No.1 made a blistering start to the first set, breaking the Wickmayer serve twice to establish early dominance.

Johanna Konta advances into Aegon open Nottingham 2017

NOTTINGHAM, England
Johanna Konta notched up her 300th career win when compatriot Tara Moore was forced to retire down 6-2, 3-0 in the first round of the Aegon Open, Nottingham.

The 26-year-old quickly found her footing in her first grass match of the year, breaking her wildcard opponent in the third game on her third break point. Though Moore's biting backhand slice caused Konta minor trouble in the opening stages, the British No.1 kept up the pressure on the World No.213, who needed to fend off a further three break points in her next service game and was broken again to fall behind 2-5.

Konta, serving strongly and redirecting the ball well, faced just one break point herself; by contrast, Moore delivered 10 double faults, many at crucial stages. Visibly struggling with a leg injury, the 24-year-old called a medical time-out after falling behind a double break in the second set, and conceded the match shortly afterwards.

Aegon Open Nottingham 2017. Tournament info

2017 Nottingham

LEVEL: International

CITY: NOTTINGHAM

LOCATION: GREAT BRITAIN

PRIZE MONEY: $226,750

START DATE: June 12, 2017

SINGLES DRAW SIZE: 32

DOUBLES DRAW SIZE: 16

SURFACE: Grass

Karolina Pliskova conquer's of the Aegon open Nottingham 2016

Top seed Karolina Pliskova overcame Alison riske in a rain-affected Aegon open Nottingham final on Sunday to capture her fifth WTA title.

Afternoon showers pushed the start of play back a couple of hours, at one point even raising the possibility of a Monday final. When the clouds did eventually clear, Pliskova held her nerve to triumph 7-6(8), 7-5, in a fraction under two hours.

"It's been a great week for me, I really didn't count on having such early success on the grass so I am feeling good ahead of Wimbledon, " Pliskova said.

AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM 2016. Main draw singles

Ana Konjuh conquers of the Aegon Open Nottingham 2015

Heavy rain over the weekend forced the tournament into a second week, but Konjuh was unruffled by the change in schedule, overcoming a disastrous start to triumph, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. 

 After winning twice on Sunday, Konjuh looked understandably weary-legged early on as she struggled to get to grips with Niculescu's unorthodox game. 
This was the first set the 17-year-old had dropped all week and provided the wake up call required. Once into her stride there was no stopping the young Croat, who romped home to become the youngest player to lift a WTA title since a 15-year-old Tamira Paszek triumphed at Portoroz in 2006. 
 "The first set wasn't going my way but I had to stay calm. I just knew that my game was going to come and I did it much better in the second set. 
I'm really glad to get that win today," Konjuh said. "She's an uncomfortable player to play against, especially on grass with that many slices. 
It's so frustrating. But she has that experience and she took the first set because I wasn't ready for it."

Agnieszka Radwanska: the most unique off-court experiences of 2015. Aegon Open Nottingham

There may not have been any play at the Aegon Open Nottingham on Saturday, but that gives us time to look back at one of the most unique off-court experiences of 2015. 

 Earlier this week at the brand new International-level event, one of the biggest fan favorites in the sport, Agnieszka Radwanska, along with WTA Rising Star Zarina Diyas and Britain's own Jocelyn Rae, were joined by Notts County Ladies FC players Fern Whelan and Danielle Buet for a tennis-soccer mashup.

Agnieszka Radwanska advances to semis in the inaugural Aegon Open Nottingham 2015

The No.1-seeded Radwanska won seven of eight games from 1-all in the first set to build a 6-2, 2-0 lead, and after Davis brought it back to 2-all, Radwanska reeled off four in a row to prevail, 6-2, 6-2.

 Radwanska closed particularly strongly at the end, winning 10 of the last 11 points of the match. She's now lost a total of just 11 games through three matches at the International-level stop. 
 "It may seem like an easy match from the score, but each set was very tight at the beginning, and point by point it was tight too," Radwanska said. 
"I think I was just a little bit more aggressive, not just in the match overall but at the end of each set and on the important points. 
That's what I did well today."

Radwanska advances in Nottingham. Aegon Open Nottingham 2015

Short of form and confidence following a difficult clay court campaign, 
Radwanska accepted a late wildcard into the tournament and has found her feet immediately on the grass. In the opening round, she dropped three games against Alla Kudryavtseva, and on Thursday she followed this up with an equally impressive 6-3, 6-1 win over Christina McHale.
 "The start was a little bit slow for me, but I think I was really playing well in the important moments in the first set," Radwanska said. 
"I think everyone is getting used to the grass so a lot of the matches have been up and down and so many breaks."

Aegon Open Nottingham Nottingham, GREAT BRITAIN Jun 08 - Jun 14, 2015. Tournament Info

Tournament Info 
Tier: International 
Prize Money: $226,750 
Surface: Grass 
Director: Rebecca James 

The Nottingham Tennis Centre was one of the principal beneficiaries of the extension of the grass court season, with its long-standing ITF tournament upgraded to a fully-fledged WTA event. 
 A number of household names have made their way to the Midlands for the inaugural Aegon Open Nottingham, including former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska.