Wolverhampton's Henry Searle sets up Dan Evans clash in Nottingham

Reigning Wimbledon junior champion Searle will be looking for the biggest win of his career when he takes on world No.62 Evans in the Challenger Tour event.

Wolves fan Searle is yet to drop a set in Nottingham, winning through two rounds of qualifying before dispatching American world No.166 Denis Kudla, who made the fourth round of the men’s singles at Wimbledon in 2015.

Searle did not drop his serve on his way to another straight sets triumph that will take him into the world’s top 600 when next Monday’s rankings are published.

Second seed Evans – now the British no.3 – needed two days and three sets to overcome Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker after his match had been held over from the night before at one set all.

The Villa fan broke twice in the deciding set to seal his path into he second round against Searle.

“I am familiar with the city, I am familiar with the surroundings and a lot of the people who come and watch,” Evans said after his victory yesterday.

“I am way more comfortable than most places and it is just nice to be able to play matches here. There is always a good crowd and that always makes it way better.

“I am really comfortable on the court. It feels really familiar when I walk out there. I know the look of the court; it makes me feel a bit at ease. I really enjoy playing here with the fans.”

Evans last lifted the trophy in Nottingham in 2022 after beating Jordan Thompson 6-4 6-4 to add to the title he won in 2019.

Success in 2024 would continue the recent trend of British success at the venue, with Andy Murray and Katie Boulter winning last year’s singles titles and Jacob Fearnley and Johannus Monday taking the men’s doubles title.

Evans fought hard against Stricker to ensure he remains in with a shout of carrying on that streak, edging out Stricker in two hours and 18 minutes and a British player is guaranteed to progress to the quarterfinals when he takes on Junior Wimbledon winner Searle.

But world No.62 Evans admitted he can only focus on himself as he looks to rack up more wins and push further up the rankings.

“It’s great that people are winning but I need to win some matches,” he added. “Unfortunately, those wins don’t give me any points so it’s great when they do well, and hopefully there are some more wins this week.

“I would love to win some more matches this week; I obviously believe that I can. It’s hard to win matches and there are a lot more tests to come.”

Top seed Cameron Norrie – who needs to improve his ranking to guarantee himself a seeded spot at Wimbledon – admitted he he “did not play my best tennis”as he overcame Sho Shimabukuro.

The 28-year-old took an hour and 43 minutes to complete his 6-1 4-6 6-3 victory.

Emma Raducanu said she was on the end of some “insane” line calls which left her feeling like it was “two v one” in her first-round victory at the Nottingham Open.

Less than 24 hours after British compatriot Harriet Dart described the standard of line-calling as “pretty appalling” in her defeat to Katie Boulter, where she offered to bet the chair umpire £50,000 she was wrong about a call, Raducanu was on the wrong end of some questionable decisions.

But she did not let it affect her and began her latest career reboot with a comfortable 6-1 6-4 over Japanese Ena Shibahara.

Raducanu was pleased to beat “her and the umpire” and suggested some of the calls might have been made to extend the match.

And in Stuttgart, Andy Murray got what could be his final grass-court season under way with a disappointing 6-3, 6-4 defeat against Marcos Giron.

n For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website