- Emma Raducanu beat Jessica Pegula in three sets in Eastbourne on Wednesday
- Victory marked the first time she has beaten a top 10 player since US Open win
- The 21-year-old is one of three British women in the last eight of the tournament
Emma Raducanu took the biggest scalp of her career as she beat world No5 Jessica Pegula to move into the quarter-finals in Eastbourne .
‘My own pace,’ she wrote on the camera after her previous match – but at this rate it’s difficult to keep up with her.
The 21-year-old had never beaten anyone inside the top 10, and only one inside the top 20 since her US Open title in 2021.
‘The new me’, as Raducanu described herself on Monday, turns out to be quite some tennis player.
Along with earlier fine wins for Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart, Britain has three women in the last eight here for the first time since 1978.
Emma Raducanu progressed to the quarter-finals in Eastbourne after victory over Jessica Pegula
The 21-year-old had never beaten anyone inside the top 10, and only one inside the top 20 since winning the US Open in 2021
‘It shows how hard we’re working,’ said Raducanu. ‘And contradicted a few beliefs about us – it shows we’re doing a pretty good job.’
On her own match, she said: ‘Feeling pretty drained right now. I managed to navigate through some tough situations. I’d say this match was one of the more meaningful for me.’
Pegula, 30, was the No2 seed here having just won the grass-court title in Berlin. Her form was red-hot, then, but there was always a chance that if Raducanu could force her deep into the match some fatigue might show.
And so it transpired, as Raducanu saved a match point in the second-set tiebreak.
Pegula has a lovely game for grass with her flat groundstrokes and strong serve. Raducanu was totally overpowered as she went 4-1 down.
She bounced off the ropes and came out swinging, attacking her opponent’s second serve and charging the net more often. It was a sensible switch up to break Pegula’s rhythm, but it was also a glimpse of how Raducanu’s game can develop going forward, on this surface at least.
She also began to mix things up with slice backhands but that shot looks a work in progress, certainly compared to her reliable double-hander.
But having worked so hard to rebuild to 4-4, 30-15 on her own serve, Raducanu hit consecutive double faults and you don’t give a player of Pegula’s class those kind of gifts.
Pegula, 30, was the No2 seed in Eastbourne having just won the grass-court title in Berlin. Her form was red-hot
The second set followed a similar pattern with Pegula breaking early and Raducanu pegging her back.
Tiebreak. Raducanu nailed a forehand to save match point and then Pegula netted a backhand to concede the set.
Raducanu was outstanding in the deciding set, saving a break point in the first game and flowering from there. She recognised that often the weakest ball Pegula was going to give her was the second serve, so she pushed hard on the return.
She has to work harder for her power than the easy-hitting Pegula, but she threw herself into her forehand and made it sing.
One combination on back-to-back points of a backhand lob winner followed by a line-painter down the line was as good as it gets.
With a point for a second break of serve she beautifully executed a backhand drop shot. That gave her a 5-2 cushion but it quickly became 5-4.
There were a few nerves as well as seagulls fluttering around the court as she stepped up to serve for the match for a second time. And after two class points from Pegula, Raducanu double-faulted and put a forehand long.
Raducanu came through in three sets to defeat the American and become one of three British women in the last eight
That was three games in a row lost but you don’t win the US Open without having a bit of ticker and Raducanu responded in the next game. A drop-shot-pass combination gave Raducanu two break points at 5-5 and she took the second with a forehand volley.
She had to save four break points but eventually she served out at the third time of asking.
