Emma Raducanu hails victory over Jessica Pegula after ‘going through some stuff’
Emma Raducanu celebrates after impressive Eastbourne victory (Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)
Emma Raducanu saved match point and went on to secure her first-ever victory against a top-10 ranked player to reach the quarter-finals at Eastbourne.
The 21-year-old wildcard fought hard and pushed world number five Jessica Pegula all the way, before clinching a remarkable 4-6 7-6 7-5 win.
“I’m pretty drained right now, but I just want to say thanks to everyone again for getting me through some really difficult moments in that match,” Raducanu said after the victory.
“It’s incredibly difficult when you’re playing someone who’s so in-form like Jessica. I mean 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, so I would say this match is one of the more meaningful ones to me.
“I think I’ve been going through some stuff and to come through it has been really nice.”
The match did not start smoothly however, Raducanu was broken in the first game of the match, and had to fight back from a 1-4 deficit to make it 4-4 in the first set.
In the second it looked like the world number five was about to win, but Raducanu saved match point and went on to fight hard again in the tie break to take the match to a third set.
I think I’ve been going through some stuff and to come through it has been really nice
Emma Raducanu
It was in the final set that she unleashed her full power, storming ahead and breaking Pegula twice, only to falter at the final hurdle. Raducanu had two chances to serve out for the set and was broken each time before she managed it on the third occasion.
Raducanu became the third British woman to qualify for the quarter-finals at Eastbourne, a feat that has not happened since 1978, and when asked about it, she said: “I think we all come alive on this surface, so 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. I think we’re all doing a pretty good job.”