Jodie Burrage takes major positives from battling LTA's Rothesay Open defeat to Shuai Zhang
BySportsbeat
Updated 09/06/2022 at 18:54 GMT
Jodie Burrage, 23, fell to a 6-2 7-6 (4) defeat against Chinese ace and world No. 41 Shuai Zhang in the last 16 on Wednesday. "It was a good level match against a very experienced opponent - and I held my own out there," Burrage said. "She's ranked about 40 in the world and been around for a long, long time."
Jodie Burrage
Image credit: Getty Images
Jodie Burrage took significant positives from a spirited performance against an opponent ranked almost 200 places above her at the LTA's Rothesay Open Nottingham.
Burrage, who is on the LTA's Pro Scholarship Programme - the highest level of support for players aged 16-24 - fell to a 6-2 7-6 (4) defeat against Chinese ace and world No. 41 Shuai Zhang in the last 16.
The 23-year-old rallied resiliently throughout the second set and believes the experience of battling it out against last year's Nottingham finalist will stand her in good stead ahead of a busy grass court season.
Burrage, the current world No.235, said: "It was a tight level match but I'm really happy with how I'm playing.
"It was a good level match against a very experienced opponent - and I held my own out there.
"I had that second set and probably should have taken it.
"She's ranked about 40 in the world and been around for a long, long time - she made the final here last year, so I'm going to take a lot of positives from it and keep working to make sure I win that match next time."
Shuai, 33, reached the final of the Midlands showpiece last year before falling to a 6-2 6-1 defeat against British star Johanna Konta.
That experience meant Burrage - who beat Lin Zhu in the first round earlier this week - was acutely aware of the challenge in store as she started slowly against the two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist.
Burrage lost the first set 6-2 but fought admirably in the second to take her opponent to a tie-break.
She was unable to spring a shock and tee up a decider but believes she's building crucial momentum ahead of next week's Ilkley Trophy and beyond.
"I had my chances that unfortunately I didn't take," added Burrage.
"I'm just happy to get through the last two weeks - the body is feeling good and the level is better than what I've been doing in the months before."
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