Andy Murray saluted the fight of Britain’s under-fire female stars as Emma Raducanu was knocked off top spot in the domestic rankings.
Murray remains on course for his first grass court title in seven years after booking a semi-final place at the Surbiton Trophy by beating fifth seed Jason Kubler 3-6 6-3 6-4.
The surprise came in the women’s draw where three Brits reached the semi-finals for the first time in the tournament’s history.
There is no British presence in the world’s top 100, nor was there a single British women in the main draw at the French Open. Stung by the criticism Katie Swan, Lily Miyazaki and Katie Boulter powered into the last-four.
Swan beat top seed Maria Tatjana Maria 3-6 6-3 6-4 to set up a battle of Britain last-four clash with Miyazaki. Boulter then joined them by downing Viktorija Golubic 7-5 6-2 to book a semi-final against Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer.
Boulter’s win means she takes the injured Raducanu’s number one spot, though Swan could yet trump her - and relegate the 2021 US Open champion to third - by winning here.
Murray said: “They have had a very good week and hopefully they can continue and push their ranking up because all of them are capable of being top 100 players. They just need to be out on the tour consistently.
“I don’t really know what is considered success for a Grand Slam nation. Is top-100 players what matters? Is it Grand Slam champions? I don’t know what it is that people want."
Murray, who today faces defending champion and world No.76 Jordan Thompson for a place in tomorrow's final, added: "I have spoken to some ex-French players and they have had lots of great players over the last 20 years but say they would take a Grand Slam champion over having more depth.
“Of course I would like to see more British players competing at the top of the game because I care about it and I want them to do well. I’m just not sure how you should quantify success when it comes to British tennis.
“Before I won Wimbledon everyone was whinging about us not having a Grand Slam champion. That was the problem. Emma has now also won yet now it’s not enough top-100 players.”
Asked what message their Surbiton success sent, Boulter said: “It is that the talent is there. “Emma’s story is an absolute fairy tale. We all believe it and hope that’s going to be us.
“But the reality is that week in week out, it’s not a sprint it’s a marathon. You have to keep reminding yourself of that, keep your head down and keep working.”
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