DEFEATED: Katie Boulter
Newcastle cling on to Champions League qualification hopes as the Tractor Boys are condemned to regulation
JAMES NALTON hails the rise of the number of Chinese players heading to the Crucible
A point apiece at the Emirates with both Arsenal and Palace looking distracted by forthcoming semi-finals
KATIE BOULTER slipped to a chastening 6-1 6-2 defeat to Russia’s Diana Shnaider in the Hong Kong Open final.
Boulter climbed into the world’s top 25 for the first time after reaching her third Women’s Tennis Association Tour final of the season, but was no match for her inspired opponent.
Top seed Shnaider, 20, outside the top 100 in January, steamrollered her way to a fourth title of the season, reeling off a catalogue of clean winners against the error-prone Brit.
