AAP Tennis

Raducanu saves match point to reach Eastbourne quarters

By AAP Newswire

Jun 27, 2024

England's Emma Raducanu has saved a match point before beating second-seeded American Jessica Pegula to reach the quarter-finals of the grass-court Eastbourne International.

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The 2021 US Open champion was 6-5 down in the second-set tiebreaker before coming back to win 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-5, which was her first win against a top-10 opponent. Pegula is ranked No.5 in the world.

The 21-year-old British player won when Pegula's forehand from the back of the court went wide.Â

A relieved Raducanu dropped her racquet and placed her head in her hands before waving to the home crowd.

"I'm pretty drained right now," she said. "I would say this match is one of the more meaningful ones to me."

Raducanu will be a wildcard entry for Wimbledon next week, after missing last year's tournament because of hand and ankle injuries.

She next faces sixth-seeded Daria Kasatkina in the quarter-finals.

Pegula won the title at the Berlin Ladies Open last Sunday on grass.

In other second-round action, Britain's Katie Boulter won 6-4 7-5 against 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, and fourth-seeded Madison Keys beat Anhelina Kalinina 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press