Emma Raducanu: Brit earns career first top 10 win over Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne - 'One of the more meaningful ones'
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Published 26/06/2024 at 17:32 GMT
Britain's Emma Raducanu has beaten a top-10 ranked player for the first time in her career after a superb win over World No. 5 Jessica Pegula in Eastbourne. The former US Open champion did not have things all her own way on the south coast, losing the first set. However, with the help of the home crowd, she rallied superbly to book her place in the quarter-finals with a 4-6 7-6(6) 7-5 success.
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Emma Raducanu staged a superb comeback to beat second seed Jessica Pegula and reach the quarter-finals of the Eastbourne International.
The Brit is playing her final tournament before heading to Wimbledon next week.
And it looked like she might be making the trip to SW19 a little earlier than planned after dropping the first set.
However, she hit hot streaks in the second and third to register a 4-6 7-6(6) 7-5 victory.
In terms of ranking, defeating the world No. 5 is the biggest win of Raducanu's career, as it is the first time she has beaten a player ranked inside the top 10.
"I'm pretty drained right now," she said in her on-court interview.
"I just want to say thanks to everyone again for getting me through some really difficult moments in that match.
"It's incredibly difficult when you're playing somebody who is so in form. She came off the back of a great run in Berlin and no doubt she's feeling confident on the grass.
"But I'm really pleased with how I managed to navigate against some really tough situations and I didn't think to be honest I'd be able to get myself out of it.
"I would say this match is one of the more meaningful ones to me. I've been going through some stuff, and to come through, it's been really nice."
Pegula came into the match fresh from winning a title on grass in Berlin last week, and that form looked set to continue when she broke in the opening game after landing some big ground strokes.
That set the tone for a topsy-turvy set, and Raducanu found herself 4-1 down after dropping her serve for a second time when scooping a forehand long.
She recovered one break in the very next game, setting up the point perfectly before putting away a backhand volley.
That energised the Eastbourne crowd, who were desperate to see the home favourite get into the match.
And shortly afterwards, the Brit made it 4-4, breaking serve for the second time in a row, raising hopes that she might get her nose in front for the first time.
However, it was not to be, with the former US Open champion duly losing four points in a row from 30-0 in her next service game, as an over-cooked backhand allowed Pegula to go 5-4 up.
The World No. 5 then served out the set and continued the second in similar fashion, once more breaking her opponent's serve in the opening game.
Indeed, Raducanu nearly found herself 3-0 down, as she was forced to save two break points to keep the deficit at 2-1.
Holding seemed to kick-start a comeback though, and within a matter of minutes, the 21-year-old had broken to 15 and levelled at 3-3.
As the set reached its climax, Pegula saved one break point at 4-5 when her opponent netted with a forehand down the line.
The American eventually held, and did so in her next service game to force a tiebreak, in which she threatened to run away with the match when racing into a 3-0 lead.
However, Raducanu had other ideas, hitting back by winning four points in a row to get things back on serve.
Pegula then sent a wild forehand wide for 3-5, before responding with a thumping cross-court winner to ensure she remained in the running.
Both players won their next two service points, meaning they each failed to convert a set point, but Raducanu was not to be denied for a third time, levelling when a cross-court backhand went into the net.
That was the first time the Brit had ever taken a set off a top 10 player, and the promise of another was building.
She saved a break point in her next service game, which was eventually sealed with an ace, as the momentum began swinging her way.
Raducanu broke to love for a 2-1 advantage when Pegula failed to return a mishit that dribbled over the net, meaning the 21-year-old was ahead for the first time in the match.
From then on, there was only going to be one result, as the American tired and was made to pay.
A hold to 15 from the Brit followed, aided by some unforced errors by her opponent, but the winners were beginning to flow too.
A delicious lob and sumptuous winner down the line helped Raducanu hold for 4-2, and she broke again in the next game, sealed with a delightful drop shot.
That left her one game away from the match, but her serve crumbled, with a double fault and then a wayward forehand providing a twist in the tale as Pegula took the game to 15.
Nerves were raised even further as the American comfortably held for 4-5, and a string of errors off the Brit's racquet soon made it 5-5 as Raducanu was broken to love.
That silenced the home crowd, yet, just as it looked like Pegula had the momentum to run away with it, she faltered again, failing to find a single first serve as she was broken for 5-6.
That gave Raducanu a third chance to serve for the match, and after saving four break points, she finally delivered the killer blow when a whipped forehand was not returned.
It is the first time she has come from match point down to win in her professional career.
Dart hits the bullseye
There will be further British representation in the quarter-finals, after Harriet Dart battled her way past former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin.
The 27-year-old often saves her best form for grass court events, evidenced by reaching the last-eight of tournaments in Birmingham and Nottingham last year.
She broke her opponent's serve three times in the first set, which she took 6-3, with one mammoth game going to deuce on three occasions.
The American hit back in the second, winning it 7-3 on a tiebreak, although again both players struggled on serve, as they were broken three times each.
But Dart found her form in the decider, racing through it in just 34 minutes without dropping a game.
The 6-3 6-7(3) 6-0 victory sets up a quarter-final tie with former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez.
That, accompanied by Katie Boulter's victory over Jelena Ostapenko, means there are three British women in the last eight for the first time since 1978.
"It's really good, healthy competition," added Raducanu of how her compatriots have competed.
"We all see each other progressing into the next round and we all just want to join them. Nobody wants to be left behind.
"That is the way it should be. We should be pushing each other and that's definitely the case right now, in the men's and women's.
"We're all doing really well, especially on the grass. We all come alive on this surface. I'm very pleased, and it's just a testament to how well we've been training and how hard we've been putting work in.
"Contrary to some beliefs about us, I think we're all doing a pretty good job."
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