An entire Kingdom is just waiting to ignite again for her. And lately, Emma Raducanu is giving her people reason to hope. A few days before Wimbledon, the young Briton, crowned at the US Open almost three years ago, stood out on Wednesday by offering herself her first victory over a member of the Top 10 on the grass of the WTA 500 in Eastbourne. . In the 2nd round, she defeated world number 5 and seeded 2 in the tournament Jessica Pegula in three sets (4-6, 7-6, 7-5) and 2h44 of a fierce fight. In the quarterfinals, she will face Daria Kasatkina.
However, everything started badly for Raducanu, overtaken by her American opponent, in full confidence after her title in Berlin: led by a double break 4-1 in the first set, she came back to level before losing ground again and to fall a set and a break behind with double break points against her (4-6, 0-2). It was at this moment that she revolted, catching up again before snatching the tie-break of the second set 8 points to 6 after having courageously saved a match point from a winning forehand shift .
A level much higher than its current 168th place in the world
Full of confidence when attacking the third act, Raducanu delighted the audience with his forehands at the end of the race, but also with finely tactically played cushioned lob sequences. She broke away well, serving at 5-2 for the match. But Pegula, who had nothing left to lose, took advantage of her tension at the conclusion to erase her two breaks behind and restart everything (4-6, 7-6, 5-5).
Raducanu then showed great mental strength to make another effort, once again delighting the opponent’s serve at the net, before concluding without having ruled out 4 new break points. By winning this roller coaster match, the Briton confirms that she is back at a very interesting level, much higher than her current 168th place in the world, she who had already reached the last four in Nottingham ten days ago. She has perhaps not played as well since her epic in New York (where she did not beat any Top 10) in 2021. Her choice to skip the Roland-Garros qualifications to spare herself physically after multiple glitches in recent years seems to be paying off.
 in the 2nd round, her first victory in a Top 10){kind=link}