Emma Raducanu registered her first victory over a top-10 player in dramatic fashion at the Eastbourne International on Wednesday, saving a match point on the way to upsetting second seed Jessica Pegula as defending champion Madison Keys cruised into the quarter-finals.
Former US Open champion Raducanu edged a tight tie-break to level against her American opponent and held her nerve to win 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 after a major wobble in the decider.
Raducanu said earlier this week that she was back in love with tennis having struggled with injuries and form since being thrust into the spotlight by her shock win at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
The 21-year-old, who missed the entire grass-court season last year following surgery, opted not to play in qualifying for the French Open or at the Paris Olympics but has a wild card for Wimbledon, which starts next week.
Raducanu, who saved a match point in the second-set tie-break, appeared to be cantering towards victory when she led 5-2 in the third set but Pegula, who won the Berlin grass-court tournament last week, broke twice to level.
ALSO READ | Raducanu eases past Stephens, advances to second round
The former British number one, now ranked 168th in the world, carved out a break of her own to edge ahead again and survived a clutch of break points to seal the win.
“It’s incredibly difficult when you’re playing someone who’s so in-form like Jessica,” said Raducanu.
“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 some really tough situations, and to be honest, I didn’t think I’d be able to get myself out of it.
“I would say this match is one of the more meaningful ones to me.... To come through, it’s been really nice.”
Fourth seed Keys saved two set points against Ukrainian qualifier Anhelina Kalinina with clean winners serving at 5-6 in the first set before dominating the second set against the Ukrainian qualifier to win 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.
The American will next face 2023 French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, who is playing her first tournament for nine months, after the Czech eased past qualifier Magda Linette 6-4, 6-1.
Britain’s Katie Boulter continued her fine form on the grass by putting out fifth seed and former champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-5.
ALSO READ | Pegula beats Kalinskaya to win Berlin Open, Putintseva clinches title in Birmingham
The British number one, who won the Nottingham tournament earlier this month, will take on third seed Jasmine Paolini in the next round.
Boulter raced to a 5-1 lead in the opening set before Ostapenko’s power game began to shift the tide of the match but the British player snuffed out the Latvian’s comeback efforts to win it 6-4.
Boulter broke three times in the second set to seal the win.
In the men’s event, Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic put out third seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4 while fourth seed Sebastian Baez exited in straight sets at the hands of Miomir Kecmanovic.
Chinese teenager Shang Juncheng beat Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 while Billy Harris ousted fellow Briton Charles Broom to reach his second consecutive quarterfinal after last week’s surprise run at Queen’s.
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