Emma Raducanu pulls off shock win over world No 5 Jessica Pegula in boost to Wimbledon preparations
Emma Raducanu is finding form at the right time
REUTERS
Emma Raducanu is through to the quarter-finals at Eastbourne after pulling off one of the biggest wins of her career against world No 5 Jessica Pegula.
The former British No 1 is working her way back up the rankings after a length spell out recovering from surgery on both her wrists last year.
It had been a mixed bag to start the year for Raducanu, but skipping the French Open has seemingly helped her rediscover some of her best form on grass.
She reached the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open before losing a tight contest against eventual champion Katie Boulter.
Emma Raducanu is finding form at the right time
REUTERS
And the 21-year-old took that momentum into Eastbourne where she pulled off an impressive win over Sloane Stephens in the first round.
A much tougher test awaited in the round-of-16 against No 2 seed Pegula, who won the Berlin Championships just last week.
The American took an early double-break lead in the first set before Raducanu fought back to level things up.
However, the British star was unable to keep it up as Pegula broke for a third time in the set to take the early advantage.
Raducanu had another slow start in the second set as she battled to get her service game working.
But Pegula was also struggling to put Raducanu away with a tiebreak needed to separate them.
The 30-year-old had a match point at 6-5 in the tiebreak, but Raducanu showed her resilience before taking the second set.
It set up a fascinating decider with Raducanu getting on the front foot early as she opened up a 5-2 lead.
Emma Raducanu looked back to her best
REUTERS
But Raducanu twice wasted opportunities to serve for the match as Pegula punished some costly errors from the young Brit.
However, the 2021 US Open champion broke back immediately and she was eventually able to serve out for the match in a historic win.
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Jessica Pegula had been on good form on grass
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It's the first time Raducanu has defeated a player inside the top-10 with Wimbledon getting underway next week.
Raducanu now joins both Harriet Dart and Boulter through to the quarter-finals at Eastbourne.
She faces either Daria Kasatkina or Yue Yuan in the next round.