Raducanu rallies for statement win in British sweep

Emma Raducanu needed three chances to come good for the biggest upset win of her career, with the 2021 US open winner leading two other Brits into the quarter-finals at Eastbourne on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old from outer London was joined in the last eight by compatriots Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart in a show of force on the grass of Devonshire Park.

It marks the first time in more than 40 years that three British women are into the quarters here, an event last won by a local in 1975.

Raducanu’s 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5 defeat of world No. 5 and weekend Berlin champion Jessica Pegula was her first career win over a Top 5 opponent, with the Brit saving a match point in the second-set tiebreaker; she had lost her previous seven against the WTA elite. .

Boulter, the national No. 1, kicked off the day’s win streak with a 6-4, 7-5 result over former Roland Garros winner and 2021 Eastbourne titleholder Jelena Ostapenko.

The 105th-ranked Dart completed the triumphant trio, stopping former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-0.

Raducanu, who missed the grass season a year ago after undergoing three surgeries, failed twice to serve out victory leading 5-4 and 6-5.in the deciding set.

But once she got the job done after two and three-quarter hours, she put her head in her hands after the emotional win.

Pegula came to Eastbourne  after winning Berlin, where she saved five match points in the final.

“I’m pretty drained right now,” Raducanu, who saved  eight break points and recovered from 6-4, 3-1 down, said.

“It’s incredibly difficult when you’re playing someone who’s so in-form like Jessica,.

“(Jessica) came off the back of a great run in Berlin, and no doubt she’s feeling confident on the grass.

“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.”

Raducanu called the victory :”one of the more meaningful ones to me. … To come through, it’s been really nice.”

She was pleased to be joined by Boulter and Dart at the business end of the pre-Wimbledon tournament. 

“It’s really good, healthy competition. We all see each other progressing into the next round and we all just want to join them. 

“No one wants to be left behind – that’s the way that it should be: We should be pushing each other, and I think that’s definitely the case right now.

“We all come alive on this surface … it’s just a testament to how well we’ve been training and how hard we’ve been putting work in.”

Raducanu will bid for her second grass semi-final in as many weeks on Thursday, facing sixth seed Daria Kasatkina, a 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 winner over China’s Yuan Yue.