Today I was back in Nottingham, this time for the final of the ATP Aegon Open. In a repeat of when I was here a couple of weeks ago, play was due to start at 12 with the doubles final and, right on cue at 12 the heavens opened. There had been plenty of warning as the sound of thunder has been reverberating for the previous 20 minutes. Fortunately it only lasted about 40 minutes.

At 1.15, the doubles final between the number 1 seeds, Croatian Ivan Dodig with Brazilian Marcelo Melo, against the number 2 seeds, Canadian veteran Daniel Nestor and Britain's Dominic Inglot, got underway. The first set was tight as each pairing held on to their serve with relative ease, until the 11th game when the Canadian/British partnership eventually broke Dodig's serve and then held to take the first set 7-5. Nestor and Inglot immediately broke Melo's serve at the start of the second to take advantage of their momentum. As each subsequent game went with serve at 5-4 Inglot stepped up to serve for the match. At deuce, the next point decided the game and the it stayed to rain again. The point went against the server to bring set level at 5 games all as play was suspended.

Upon the resumption, both teams held onto their serves to force a tie-break, which Saw Inglot and Nestor claim the Nottingham Open title. The victory ensured that 43 year old Nestor has claimed at least one Tour title each year since 1994! It was Inglot's fifth title, and second on grass.

Next up were American sixth seed Steve Johnson and Uruguayan second seed Pablo Cuevas. Johnson had found previous success at Nottingham 3 years ago when it was a Challenger tournament and his victory saw him break into the Top 100 for the first time.

During the first set, neither player faced a break point, so it came down to a tie-breaker. Cuevas soonestablished a 3-1 lead only for Johnson to claim 6 of the next 8 points, and the set.

Carrying the momentum forward into the second set, Johnson secured the first break of the match for a 2-1 lead. However, Cuevas broked back to level the set at 4-4. However, Johnson retained his composure to break again for a 6-5 lead, and serve out the next game to secure his first ever ATP Tour title. No wonder he loves Nottingham!

During the journey home, the heavens opened again - a bad omen with Wimbledon about to start!