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.

Aryna Sabalenka has barely a week to regain fitness before the start of Wimbledon after the world No. 3 had to retire on Saturday from a delayed Berlin quarter-final.

The double Australian Open champion quit her final-four match against Anna Kalinskaya with shoulder pain in a march postponed from Friday due to a day of rain in the capital.

 Second seed Sabalenka trailed 5-1 before quitting the grass-court contest. her  retirement in Berlin followed one from Ons Jabeur, with the Tunisian lasting one set 6-7 (9) against tournament top seed Coco Gauff.  

Former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki is planning ahead for what was announced on Friday as the pending birth of a first child to the German WTA player.

The announcement on International Women’s Day broke the news for the 2013 runner-up to Marion Bartoli at the All England Club.

“Life has many surprises in store for you, including this one,” Lisicki posted on social media. “My fiancé and I are looking forward to an exciting trip. 

“That also means that I have to make another comeback… ;-)”

Lisicki said the baby is due in the autumn and that she already plans to make a comeback to the sport in the tradition of tennis-playing mothers such as countrywomen Angelique Kerber and Tatiana Maria along with Caroline Wozniacki and Naomi Osaka.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I love tennis and have a lot planned on the court,” the winner of four WTA titles said.

“The recent tournament victory in (an entry-level event in) Calgary underlines my great passion for sport. 

“With what still lies ahead of me, I’m already looking forward to the moment of returning to the WTA tour as a mother.”

Lisicki has also been taken on board by organisers of the WTA 500 Berlin Ladies Open and the men’s Stuttgart and Vienna events and will likely work as a brand ambassador.

Main photo:- Wimbledon 2014 Sabine Lisicki first round – by Anne Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd